


Kings, Punks, and the Struggles of the People- Semester One

by laurel_wesley (Wes)



Series: Of Royalty, Rainbows, Thugs, and Vigilantes [1]
Category: RWBY
Genre: Canon rewrite (somewhat), Collab between me and my dad, Other, TOTAL OC FIC, side story/doujinshi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-20
Updated: 2015-11-24
Packaged: 2018-03-08 08:54:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 66,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3203318
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wes/pseuds/laurel_wesley
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Lame titles are lame, and lame teammates are even lamer. For Wiley O'Syrah, Kazh Yule, Neta Savage, and Reginald Alexander Aegeon III, their team couldn't possibly be out-lamed. But they're a team now, Team KRWN, and together they have to work as a single cohesive unit, pass their classes, and somehow not get on the bad side of a new and rising baddies working for Roman Torchwick.</p><p>(OFFICIALLY COMPLETE WITH EDITS AND ALL!!!! May go back to change Minnie's name to Dahlia but not tonight lol Thank you for your fifty billion year long patience!!!!!)</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Opening Act

**Author's Note:**

> Sort of a rewrite I'm doing for fun as a collab with my dad lol We really love the RWBY-verse, the characters, the weapons, and the story, and though it has it's flaws (a lot as of season two), I still find it fun an enjoyable. So we decided to work together and create our own teams and story for RWBY, following the canon but also diverging a bit. I hope this will be a fun ride for you and for us!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ALRIGHT FUCK THIS SHIT I'M DONE. *ROLLS UP SLEEVES IN CAPITAL LETTERS* I AM D O N E WITH BEING SALTY AT RWBY RIGHT NOW IS THE TIME I AM SITTING DOWN AND REWRITING/FINISHING THIS SHIT LET'S G O R I G H T N O W
> 
> I'm sorry for the wait, S3 came out M O N T H S ago and after watching it I was so upset with things that happened I just din't want to work on this fic AT ALL. But my dad has given me good ideas and was encouraging me to write, and I finally got ideas for Wisty who I've REALLY REALLY REALLY WANTED TO REVAMP and now I'm like 
> 
> SIT DOWN
> 
> DO IT WES
> 
> WRITE IT. 
> 
> SO HERE WE ARE. And then if my drive is still strong WHICH I DAMN HOPE IT IS CUZ I HAD SOME GOOD SHIT PLANNED FOR PART TWO AND THREE OF THIS SERIES I'mma sit down and work on those. 
> 
> I'm ready I'm pumped I'm hype *Dashie voice* LET'S GO.

The opening ceremonies were long and boring, Wiley thought. She could barely hear what Ozpind was saying over the murmurs and whispers of the students around her, opting to tune them all out completely. Yes, she was a Faunus, yes she wore it proudly. Her wine red ears stood up and alert on her head, uncovered like the long claws on her bare feet and hands. Her eyes were a bright had unmistakeable slits for pupils. Most importantly to her, it didn't matter what the others thought about her, what remarks they made.

She stood in the center of a small crowd towards the back of the room, arms crossed over her abdomen as she shifted on her feet. She curled and uncurled her toes- no shoes of course- and chewed at her lip. It was hard to stand in one place for so long.

A particular snicker caught her ear. It was malicious, venomous, and she turned to find out who'd let it slip. Two rows up, standing about four people away, was a brunette with purple eyes, staring right at her. She stared back, unblinking, and it oddly didn't make him waver. He leaned over to a guy next to him, tapped his shoulder, and whispered something into his ear.

"Lookit that Faunus over there," she heard, "What a scumbag, how'd she get in? Do you think she--"

The guy was cut off by the ceremonies ending. Wiley huffed and clapped three times, then crossed her arms again, turned around, and left. She was out of the door with the first crowd of students, walking in the opposite direction they were going. It was still light out, she wasn't about to return the dance hall where the students slept. She wanted to explore a little, do some searching of the campus. Stretch her legs after standing for an impossibly long time.

She waltzed on her toes, nails clicking quietly against the floor. A force of habit, really, but she wasn't about to break it. It was in her nature as a coyote anyway, since the animals in question were digitigrade. When she was outside, she was nearly silent. It felt awesome.

Loud footsteps approached her from behind. Her ears flattened down to her head. She turned ever so slightly to see who was following her and found the big brutish brunette from the ceremony. She let out a sigh and rolled her eyes, then kept walking.

"Faunus brat," He called out.

"Racist bully," Wiley retorted, and kept walking. He growled low in his throat, and ran at her, catching her shoulder. She went to push him off, but he used his other hand to slam her against the wall, making her yelp. She stood firmly, even with the wind knocked out of her, and leveled a glare at his face.

"What do you want, huh?" She asked, defiant.

"Combat school isn't any place for thugs like you. You know you need an education, right?" He spat, grinning. Wiley snorted, leaned against the wall in picturesque nonchalance. He faltered, took on a powerful stance, arms crossed. There was a power struggle here, between victim and bully. Bully was losing.

She raised her eyebrows, a smile already across her face as she fired back, "Aren't you a little inadequate to be here, then?"

He growled again, tsk'd at her. "At least I'm perfectly _normal_ , not some _half-breed_."

Wiley stiffened. Her toes curled again, scratching the floor. "You listen here, punk--"

"Whoa! Nala! I haven't seen you in ages!" An arm hooked around her shoulders, making her stumble forward. She wrapped an arm around the other person's back, gasping quietly, "Excuse me?"

"Mmm, guuuurl, how you been? Have you been working out? You look so fit. Man, summer was great huh? I gotta tell you alllll about mine. So like, I met this girl, right? This girl, she was _hecka_ fine and like, single! And-- Oh, am I interrupting anything?"

Wiley literally had no idea what was happening. Nala? Who the heck was this guy? Her bully looked about as confused as she was. "I think you have the wrong person..."

"What? Nah way girl. You hit your head or something? We should get that checked out." The guy told her. He had dark blue hair, kept both his eyes closed, and a had a pair of square bandages across his cheeks. Wiley knew he was a Faunus too, but he had no tail so his ears were covered by his hat, probably. "I don't think--"

"Come on! Let's split- I'll get you some juice on the way." He took her hand and started running down the hallway, jerking her along behind him. The bully didn't follow, just stared after them with a dumbfounded expression. She couldn't help it, Wiley turned and stuck her tongue out at him before they turned the corridor. The brunette's face burned crimson, his brow furrowed, and she could hear him storming off. She chuckled to herself as they ran. 

* * *

When they got outside, the guy finally let her hand go. They caught their breath without saying a word to each other, then finally he looked up. "You okay?"

"Peachy," Wiley replied. "What was that about?"

"Diffusing a situation is harder than avoiding one. Besides, I could basically see the sparks of anger between you two, I didn't want to get in on _that_ ," the guy said. He was tall and lanky, Wiley's ears stood at about his eye level. He wore a brown hat, blue and green hoodie, and knee-length black biker pants, a white belt with a bag around his waist, and fingerless gloves. He held a hand out to her. 

"I'm Kazh. Nice to meet you."

"Wiley," She stated, shaking his hand.

Kazh snatched his hand back, brows furrowing. "Do you gotta keep your nails so long? I think you just cut me."

"You're wearing gloves though," Wiley noted, crossing her arms.

Kazh examined his hand, then smiled at her. "Yeah, I guess I am. So that guy, you know him?"

"No way. And I never intend to. Do you?"

"Nuh-uh. I'm new at this school too," Kazh told her. The two started walking, but they made it all of two steps before Kazh stopped again. He had such a casual grin it was almost contagious. "Hey, ya know what? You and I should try to get on the same team, if we aren't partners. Faunus gotta stick together, ya know?"

Wiley nodded, smirking herself. "Yeah, I guess. We'll see what happens."

"Yup." They started walking again in silence, Kazh slipping his hands into his pockets. He started whistling a tune, upbeat and cheerful, fast. After a few more steps, the bicyclist paused them once more. "Okay so seriously, how was your summer?"

* * *

Reg crossed the foyer, last to exit the auditorium. He wanted to introduce himself to the headmaster. By no means was he a kiss-up, heck nah. But he did like to know his teachers in case he ever needed a... Favor, so to speak. Besides, he'd heard of the new girl who'd skipped two years of training, he wasn't about to let _her_ show him up!

Reg put on a bright smile and called out to the professor. The man turned to him, his assistant also turning. Reg held out his hand. "Professor Ozpind. It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

Ozpind glanced at the blonde with him and shook Reg's hand. The dark-skinned boy then held his hand out to her, but kissed her knuckles instead of shaking. Ozpind raised an eyebrow while the blonde rolled her eyes.

"Miss Goodwytch, I take it?" Reg asked.

"Yes, you are correct," Glynda sighed as Reg let her hand go. Ozpind gave her a friendly smile, then turned to look at the boy in front of him. 

"Reginald, correct?" Ozpind asked. "The pleasure is all mine. Welcome to Beacon, although I'm sure you've heard that enough times already."

"But not once from the esteemed Headmaster himself, sir." Reginald smirked. "It's an honor to have been accepted."

"You may have been accepted, but proving if the school is really the place for you is another matter entirely," Glynda started, staring at him pointedly. "In fact--"

"While it may be difficult," Ozpind cut her off, earning a glare. He gave her a slight glance, and looked back at Reg. "If you learn to work with others, you will be fine. This school is not only an institution to learn to fight Grimm, but also a place in which we learn to communicate and work with each other. If you do not wish to cooperate with your future partners and classmates, you may have a problem here."

The look Ozpind gave him, knowing and just a little sympathetic, made Reg want to punch him, but he held back; it would not be proper or respectful to hit a teacher. Besides, Ozpind was offering some great advice, even though Reg didn't want to admit that. It wasn't like he _couldn't_ work with people or anything... He nodded and said, "I agree. It is a good life-long skill to possess as well, especially as a future Huntsman. Thank you for the advice, Sir."

"You're very welcome. Now, I must get back to my office. The initiation is tomorrow, so it's a good idea to get plenty of sleep," Ozpind stated, and he and Reg shook hands one more time. The boy held a hand out for Glynda, but she turned her nose up at him, following the headmaster out of the foyer.

Reg tapped his foot impatiently, simmering quietly to himself. It was as though Ozpind just _knew_  something about his future at Beacon, like he wouldn't get on a team with Weiss Schnee or Pyrrha Nikos... As a talented royal himself, of course he'd be teamed up with one of the two if not both... How could he not be? His family owned land, and had a good business, and he was a fine huntsman himself, with skills probably on par to theirs!

He made his way out of the room through the door he came in, stepping out into the large hallway. He noticed a tall brunette stalking towards him, purple eyes trained on the brooch clipped to his collar. The guy probably knew who he was.

"Who are you? You look pretty fancy."

Or not.

"Reginald Alexander Aegeon, III. Duke of Siloh, Baron of Creita, and soon-to-be Viscount of Jernine. Pleasure to make your acquaintance." Reg introduced, bowing slightly. He'd have tipped his hat if he had one, but he didn't, so he held out a hand out of politeness instead. He winced slightly when it was shaken firmly by the brunette.

"Cardin Winchester, soon-to-be top dog of the school and the best hunter around."

"I see..." Reg muttered, pulling his hand away. Cardin had a firm grip on him, if it didn't break bones... Reg was glad he was ambidextrous, he didn't think he could use his right hand for a while.

"So, you a new student too?" Reg nodded, his hands coming to rest behind his back. 

"Of course. Beginner class B, my initiation is tomorrow."

"Oooh, you too, huh? Same, but I'm class A. Looks like I'm better than you already." Cardin smirked. Reg tried to resist the urge to roll his eyes. He failed miserably, mumbling, "I highly doubt it, but if that is what you believe..."

The brunette threw an arm around the dark-skinned boy's shoulders, tousling his collar and chord. Reg yelped quietly, falling into a ragged step with Cardin. "Listen, you seem like a strong guy. Stronger than any of the Faunus punks and ratchet newbies I've seen so far... What's say we aim to be on the same team? I'm thinking we'd make a great set a' partners."

"I'll think about it." which was a blatant way of saying, "heck to the no."

Cardin laughed, tossing his head back and letting the sound echo through the hallway. Reg would have plugged his ears if he could move his arms. HE stopped laughing and shook his head. "You're hilarious. 'I'll think about it.' It's a yes or no question. But I'll let you slide for now. I'll see you around, Newbie. Good luck tomorrow."

Reg watched him go, sighing deeply. For the rest of the day there wouldn't be much for him to do, so it would probably be a good idea to retire to the ballroom where the students were staying for the night. Maybe he could scout out other eligible teammates.

* * *

Neta took the steps two at a time, reading his book intently as he walked. Sure he'd just made it to Beacon, but he couldn't slow down his studies now... The initiation was tomorrow and he couldn't risk running into a Grimm and not knowing about it. He brushed up on his lessons from his previous school, books about Grimm leant to him by his last teacher. If he ran into a type he'd never encountered before (which was a lot of them, actually), he'd need to be ready to defeat it. Nose buried in his book, he wasn't paying attention as he walked.

He could barely even hear the footsteps coming down the hall, until the girl had physically run into him. He stumbled back and his books scattered across the floor, an "oomph" coming from his mouth.

"Hey watch--"

"Sorry!" The two spoke in unison, and paused to look at each other. Neta didn't recognize the girl at all, but she had probably long, bright orange hair tied in a loose messy bun on top of her head with a flower ornament, across the forehead bangs and too strands hanging down over metal guards surrounding her face. Her eyes were two different colors, the right lilac and the left pearl white, worried and curious all at once.

"Sorry," She said again, offering him one of his books.

"It's fine," Neta sighed, slowly taking the book back. She helped him collect the rest of them, rubbing the back of her head as she stood.

"I'm sorry about the books, are you alright?" She apologized again, looking at him.

"You don't have to be sorry, I'm fine. Are you okay?" Neta asked. He hoped she didn't notice that he was making intense eye-contact, fascinated by the white and purple eyes staring at him.

"Yes, I'm just fine. No injuries here," She laughed to herself. "So, I'm Lilac Tegeen. It's nice to meet you, I guess?" She laughed again, holding out her hand.

"Neta. Nice to meet you, Lilac," He introduced himself, nodding his head. It took him a moment to adjust his books and shake her hand.

"I'm just heading off to the training ring, would you like to join me?" She inquired, a gesture of friendship no doubt. Neta didn't really want to go, honestly, aside the fact he didn't know her he still wanted to read. He motioned to the stack. 

"Can't, sorry. I still have a lot to study, but maybe some other time?"

"Oh! Sure, we'll have to spar each other later then. I'll see you later, Neta," Lilac said, and excused herself. "Bye~"

She took off down the hallway again, but why she was running of all things, he had no idea. Out of the corner of his eye as he turned, he barely caught sight of a small black streak running down from the back of her hair that wasn't there before. He didn't realize she had longer hair.

He continued on to the library, excited to find a quiet place to read. He knew the ballroom would be anything but that, all those loud and rambunctious teenagers... He narrowed his eyes at the thought.

Speaking of loud teenagers, he entered the library to see four people at the center table, one shooting spitballs at the ceiling. The other two were reading and the last was on their computer. Neta grimaced, making his way to the far back of the library, slipping his books out from under his arms along the way. He plopped them down at a table, burying his face in his studies. Soon he was lost in the pages, the drone of the air conditioner making perfect white noise.

It wasn't long before someone slid into the chair across from him. Neta glanced up briefly to see who it was: A blonde boy with tanned skin, his hair was swooped up to the side with his arms behind his head. He had a brown jacket on over a white shirt, greenish-grey pants tucked into knee-high combat boots. He'd placed his feet up on the table, making Neta huff in annoyance.

"Dude, can you get your feet off the table? That's unsanitary," Neta stated. The guy rolled his _whole head_ for emphasis and said, "Can't you just get another table?"

"I was here first, but point taken. See ya," Neta quipped, and got up to leave. Almost immediately the guy put his feet down and called him back.

"I was kidding with you, man. Come back."

Neta snorted and sat back down, pushing his books to the side. The guy leaned across the table and held out a hand. "I'm Tristan."

"Neta," he introduced, shaking Tristan's hand.

Tristan eyed his book. "Initiation tomorrow?"

"Yeah. You?"

"Same. What class?"

"Group C," Neta hissed, opening up a book an flipping to the first page. He'd heard that people with the lowest skill level were shoved in C, the ones assumed not to make initiation. 

Tristan laughed, but not in mocking. "I'm in B. You know, everyone thinks that the groups have something to do with your skill level, but I don't think that's true."

"Oh yeah?" Neta asked, glancing up. Tristan grinned, his glasses sliding down his face to reveal pale teal colored eyes. 

"Yup. Some start off better or worse and they're all filed into groups at random."

Neta leaned forward. "That's an interesting tidbit. It's nice to know that we're not segregated by skill. Do you think it's to mix up the classes?"

"Yeah," Tristan nodded. "And also a great opportunity to meet some really lovely ladies."

"Oh, you're one of _those_  guys." Neta reclined in his chair, burying his face in his book. Coincidentally, a pair of girls passed by, and Tristan sent a flirtatious wink at them, making one girl cover her mouth and giggle while the other just rolled her eyes and waved.

"The underclassmen this year are so good looking!" Neta heard the first girl whisper. He shrugged, sending a look at Tristan. "So are you here to hunt Grimm or hunt for a girlfriend?"

"When you put it like that, you make me sound a little terrible. I want to hunt Grimm and help people but if my girlfriend happens to be a kick-butt huntress so we can work together I won't complain at all," Tristan replied, with the most stunning smile he could manage. Neta tried to shoot it down with a well timed glare. It didn't work.

"So anyway, what are you good at, fighting wise?" The blonde asked conversationally. Neta closed his book, placing it on top of the stack, and crossing his arms. 

"I'm a spearman. And an archer."

"I work with guns. Maybe we'd make good partners, yeah? I did hear a rumor about teams."

"I've heard that too," Neta agreed. This was a conversation he could handle. "I'm a little opposed to it though."

"I think it'll be fun, like an adventure!" Tristan grinned. Neta suppressed the urge to smile as well, it was freaking contagious.

He finally settled for huffing, "Well, the sooner it's over, the better. I want to get out on the field and actually do something already, I hear Grimm are abundant in this area; and you know what they say, practice makes perfect."

"You sound like you're used to being cooped up. You must not get out very much," Tristan teased. 

"Please," Neta scoffed. "I went to a private academy in Mistral, all we _ever_ did was field work."

"Then I guess you're just really impatient."

"I suppose you could say that, yeah."

"Well." Tristan stood, revealing that he was actually a pretty short guy, maybe an inch or two shorter than Neta himself. "It was nice to meet you. I wanna go check out the school a bit more, so I'll see ya round." He sent Neta another grin. "Hey, keep me in mind if we don't end up as partners. It's nice to know people."

"Yeah. Tristan, right? I'll try to remember you," Neta answered, nodding as he returned to his studies.

Tristan gave him a final goodbye, before walking away from the table and leaving the library. After a long while, Neta finally left as well, sighing as he headed back to the ballroom with his books in hand. He figured he'd probably see his new acquaintance again, as all the students were sleeping in the same room. It would be a short night too, he figured he'd better get some sleep. Or catch up on more studying-slash-procrastinating to read his favorite book series. Same difference, really, he loved his studies. Whatever.

* * *


	2. Orienteering

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> BEFORE WE START THIS I NEED YOU ALL TO KNOW THAT ARUN AND WILEY ARE MY BABIES. 
> 
> I suppose I should tell you who belongs to who: 
> 
> Kazh, Reg, Isaiah, and Tristan: Dad (Papakira? Lol)
> 
> * * *
> 
> Neta, Wiley, Lilac, and Arun: me hahaha. 
> 
> Note on pronunciation, Arun's name is pronounced with a long O sound, so ah-roon. The others are self explanatory. As for why some don't have specific color names, some will be explained later- but I can tell you now that Kazh's name is a play on Casual and Wiley is based off of Wile E. Coyote, hence her name being Wiley, and Lilac's name is actually two colors, based off her two colored eyes XD Anyway, please enjoy~

Neta looked out over the forest, surveying the scenery while some green-haired professor hyped on too much coffee chattered behind him. Group C's launch point was closest to the relic apparently, however, to compensate, they'd be launched the farthest away. Group A was farthest distance-wise, making Neta suspect he'd be paired up with someone from group B since they'd land closest together. He only hoped his partner would at least be relatively competent.

"Yo, you ready? This is gonna be so cool," A boy next to him whispered. He had shaggy red hair, and was bouncing around on his toes, a lion's tail swishing behind him. The Faunus was grinning widely, brown eyes bright with excitement. 

"Yeah, ready as I'll ever be," Neta replied, shrugging. He rested a hand on the hilt of one of his Parablades, curling his fingers around the metal. His fingers twitched on it, thumb flicking gently over the button at the end- he couldn't wait to get out into the forest to do a little hunting.

"I'm so psyched," The red-head said again. "Dude it's like, we just got here and we're already getting partners. So cool!"

"Yeah, cool," Neta responded dully. 

The Faunus tapped his shoulder with the back of his hand. "Hey, hey, I'm Arun Mahes, by the way. What's your name?"

"Netam" Neta replied simply. A sudden _pwing_ followed by a screech from across the forest made them both jump in surprise. In the distance, a few silhouettes could be seen, flying towards the center of the woods. A second body from their group was launched, then a third. When was the first launched? Since when was it almost Neta's turn?!

"Dude," Arun rushed to say, "I am so excited!! Maybe we'll end up as teammates or something, yeah? See ya--"

Neta was so distracted by the lion that he actually forgot where he was for a second, until he was flying through the air. Arun was laughing in the distance, and screamed, "See ya at the bottom!" after him.

"Forget you!!" Neta screeched back, and adjusted himself midair to compensate for screwing up his launch. He hoped he'd be able to lessen the force of his impact- in theory it should have been easy enough for someone who studied physics as much as he did. At least his recovery would be good. Here's to hoping he got an equally good partner.

* * *

Arun stood on the platform, laughing. He had a childish cackle, his wide grin revealing sharp canines. He hadn't even drawn his weapons, chakrams secured safely to the metal plate at his back, nor was he standing in a ready position- he seemed perfectly content waiting to be thrown.

"Are you ready?" The professor asked, probably concerned since the last launch went so poorly. 

Arun nodded his approval, grinning. "Yup! I'm ready."

The teacher, Oobleck if he recalled correctly, took a sip of his coffee, then nodded in return. 

"Good luck then," And with that, launched him.

Arun laughed as he flew, the wind ruffling his hair and stinging his eyes. He couldn't see for crap but that didn't matter- he was having a heck of a lot of fun, and that was what counted. After a long while in the air, he drew his chakrams off of his back: circular and bladed with two parallel grips in the center and another thinner one on one side under the blade, with a blazing orange-gold-and-black color scheme. He threw one, freezing it in midair with the use of his semblance, time manipulation. He then used his semblance again to slow his dissent ever so slightly, so he could collide with the weapon and use it as a kick board. He did the same with his second chakram, but used a chain situated in one of the handles to bring it with him as he flew towards the floor. He hit the ground with a soft roll, fluidly starting to run when his feet touched the ground for the second time. He sprinted to catch his first chakram in his free hand, spinning it around once and proudly cheering for himself as he continued to run through the forest. Time to find himself a partner. Maybe it'd be that Coyote Faunus he'd seen in the ballroom earlier!

 

Back at the launch site, down the row from where Arun previously stood, another student was getting ready for her landing method. She wore a lavender dress, slit up to her thighs, with pure white armor covering her torso to her shoulders, mesh from her dress covering the center of her chest exposed. Black leggings tucked into metal boots, and black fingerless gloves covered her hands under wrist armor. Her orange hair was wrapped in a messy bun, a metal ornament with a white carnation sitting to one side securing it, and her two colored eyes surveyed the area. Grasped in her delicate-looking hands was a long, thin spear, the blade formed by two pointed prongs with the tips together and a gem to hold it steady. She nuzzled her cheek into a chattering creature sitting on her shoulder, giggling as she did so. The girl's name was Lilac Tegeen, and she was prepared to get out there, kick some butt and take a name.

The creature clicked it's tongue, making Lilac giggle. 

"I know, Minnie," she murmured. "Don't worry, just hold on tight and we'll be fine."

Minnie would have rolled her eyes if they were more than orange orbs hidden behind her mask. She was a small creature of Grimm, about the size of a ferret, with a tail twice her length. A strangely mutated Red Panda, Lilac had once said. Her ears and most of her face were covered by her ivory exoskeleton, and some of the bone lined the base of her tail and outer parts of her legs, a pair of spines protruding off of her lower back. She chittered and chattered up a storm, watching people fly off the cliff.

The guy next to Lilac was launched, and she adjusted herself slightly. Minnie chirped and snuggled into her neck, nesting herself between the shoulder pad and into the junction of Lilac's shoulder. She smiled fondly at her little friend, but was quick to reign herself in. This was it, time to prove to _everyone_ that she was _ready for this_.

_Pwing!_

* * *

Cardin was glaring down at her the entire time Ozpind was speaking. Wiley could feel it, and flattened her ears back against her head to show her disapproval. More than once she'd wanted to take a stab at him, and now that she had her weapon she knew she could do so effectively. She threaded her fingers together, extending her arms outward, palms facing away from her so she could crack her knuckles, followed by a head circle or two to pop her neck. She was third in line to be launched, and she wanted to be prepared. Her gloves clinked together as she moved her fingers, the small blades on the back of her hands screeching as the were pushed together. Cardin, along with most of the other students in line, winced at the noise.

Before she could start bouncing on her toes, a hand reached over and flicked her in the ear. She yelped, her hand flying up to smack whoever it was away. The laugh sounded way to familiar and she turned to see Kazh. 

"Heya, Wiley!"

"Kazh!" She exclaimed, her hand cradling her ear. The dark-haired boy grinned at her, eyes closed as usual. He had a full-sized bicycle slung over his shoulder, but no weapon in sight.

"You ready for this?" He inquired. 

"Of course. My semblance is aerokinesis, so I'll be able to control every aspect of my landing," Wiley gloated, crossing her arms. She loved how easily accessible her semblance was, it made her feel free and unrestricted in her fighting, and powerful too. Like her walking, it felt awesome.

Kazh snickered, adjusting the bike on his shoulder. "You sound sure of yourself."

"Why shouldn't I be?" She retorted, green eyes narrowed slightly. 

"No reason." Kaz replied. "Anyway, I think we're starting soon--"

A screech echoed across the valley, and the first person of group A was launched. The second person, a tall girl with dark hair and skin, adjusted her glasses on her face. The only way to describe her was punk-rock, as she wore a purple leather jacket over a sleek black body suit, and had her dreads pulled off to one side, the other half of her head shaved. A pair of gunmetal grey cubes hung from her belt, tied to the bow there. Her voice was deep as she mumbled, "Looks like it's my turn."

She stepped back slightly, her stance widening, and when she took off she pretty much rocketed through the air. She wasn't that far away when she suddenly stopped and started plummeting to the ground. However, not a single thump or loud noise followed the girl. She probably didn't die or anything, right? That was just her method, yeah.

Wiley felt her ears twitch, and she was suddenly unsure of herself. Kazh tapped her shoulder again, giving her a reassuring smile as he walked back to his spot two people away from her. "Girl, you'll be fine. Trust me."

Wiley blinked, then let out a breath. "You're right, I'll do just fine. See ya at the finish line."

"Wanna bet I'll get there first?" Before she could reply, she was launched off the platform. Though wind was her semblance, it wasn't her natural element. In truth, she was actually a little paranoid of being off the ground. The sooner she was back on it, the better. She twisted her body around and angled herself in just the right way to slow her descent without spreading her arms and legs out. As she neared a tree, she thrust a hand out and moved it in a circular motion, her hand finding a solid surface sooner than it was expecting. Wiley gasped and curled into a roll, the surface she had made from her semblance allowing her to hover just above the top of the trees.

A whirring noise made her turn around. She could see Kazh speeding towards her on-- No way, was that a hover-bike?!

"Not fair! You're cheating!"

"What? Nah way! This is my landing method, it's fine," Kazh responded, slowing to a halt next to her. The frame of the bike had elongated slightly, the wheels sitting horizontally instead of vertically. Wiley's jaw dropped, his leisurely method was beyond unfair.

"Ka- Kazh!! Give me a ride!" She yelled over the noise, waving at him frantically.

His grin widened, and he yelled back, "You said you were fine on your own though!"

"Y-yeah, but- Well I-!!" Wiley felt her platform thinning, it wouldn't be able to hold her much longer. "Kazh-!!"

"Since we haven't touched the ground yet, I guess that means we won't qualify as partners... Shame, but I hope we get on the same team! Well, see ya at the finish line then~" Kazh taunted in a sing-song voice. Wiley was too stunned and angry to even yell after him, or notice when her makeshift platform had run out of juice. She barked as she fell, just barely managing to tangle herself into a few tree limbs before she hit the ground and broke her neck or something.

"Jeez, my semblance can control wind, why can't it control boys..." She huffed, blowing a stray hair out if her face.

* * *

Isaiah was having a pleasant time, strolling leisurely through the forest. It was nice and cool on the ground, the dew from the grass and fallen leaves soaking through the toes of her boots. Her landing method was easy, since her semblance was gravity manipulation- she could change the pull of gravity on something at her will. Of course, when applied to her landing method, she'd just made herself heavier to stop her forward momentum and drop to the ground, then lighter before she hit it. Combined with her momentum, she wasn't going to drift back up into space again.

With her trusty boleros, Law and Energize, at her side, Isaiah continued through the forest. Before long, she knew she'd encounter her new partner, and soon after that, her team.

* * *

Professor Port waltzed back and forth in front of the students, idly chattering. That seemed to be to be a trait of all the teachers, Reg dully noted. At least Port's stories of grandeur were relatively interesting... For the first five minutes. However, Reg was too much of a good student to not tune him out, so he listened absentmindedly instead.

"Now, like I said I did in my initiation a great many years ago, we will fire you off this hill from these platforms, into the forest. We usually go right to left," Port explained. Reg glanced down the isle. He had time, he was second to last to launch. There was a boy all the way at the end of the row who fist pumped and punched the air energetically, a huge grin on his face. He had no weapon on him, simply a graphite colored backpack made of metal. "Aw yeah, I'm like, last to be launched. Gonna get to watch all the ladies--"

Reg hadn't glanced over until then, but when he noticed the blonde-haired boy, his breath hitched. "Tris-?"

"But to switch it up," Professor Port said, interrupting him, "We're going to fire from left to right instead of the other way around."

"Wait, what?!" The boy called, turning around. "You're kidding! But that means--"

_Pwing!_

Reg quickly covered his ears, but he was pretty sure the boy's- possibly his brother's- screech could be heard across the whole valley. After that, multiple other shapes started rocketing towards the center of the forest. Some were followed by explosions, others created platforms for themselves as they went. Some just bashed through the trees headlong, making Reg cringe slightly. How... Illogical. And unsightly.

When his turn came, he almost wasn't expecting it. Once in the air though, he went over his landing method in his head again. He had meticulously planned every detail, down to the spot he was going to hit the ground at. It was perfect, until--

"SORRY!"

Someone slammed into him, her shoulder colliding with his side. The two tumbled in midair, then started free falling. Reg cursed, reaching out to grasp onto her and at least protect her somewhat before they hit the ground--

"Wait! I can save us!" She yelled, turning them around. Her hand started glowing a bright white color, before she threw her spear towards the ground. A long white extension connected the spear to them, but Reg didn't see how that would save them from tumbling to their graves.

Or what would have been their graves if the girl hadn't held him tight and slid down the spear until they stopped completely, halting their downward trajectory. They hadn't touched the ground yet, and her spear, miraculously balanced, was slowly lowering them. Upon closer inspection, the extention was glowing similar to what he'd seen an Aura look like, and he realized it was her semblance.

"Are you okay?" 

Reg looked up into two-colored, worried eyes. He nodded, then looked around again.

"You messed up my landing method."

"Oh! Right, sorry!" She looked away from him quickly, her cheeks instantly coloring. "A-at least I saved us, I guess? Um, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to run into you..."

"It probably couldn't have been helped," Reg sighed, shaking his head. He looked down at the floor again, still a little ways off.

"So... I'm Lilac Tegeen, your name is?" 

"Reginald Alexander Aegeon III. A pleasure to meet you." 

"Yes, a pleasure!" Lilac smiled widely. "I guess this makes us partners now, right?" 

"We haven't touched the floor yet." Reg pointed out, quite literally. 

Lilac looked down, then back at him, "I just saved your life though, and technically this spear is touching my semblance which is touching the ground, so there."

"Yes, but that is your semblance, and not us. I admire your effort, and thank you for saving me, but I really must go, before someone else is paired with Miss Schnee or Miss Nikos," Reg wriggled a bit until she let him go, then fell to the floor with a flip and landed on his feet "Now, if you'll excuse me..."

With that, he made his way away from her. Lilac watched after him, then sighed and retracted her extension, allowing herself to fall. Minnie wriggled out from under her shoulder pad and chirped at her, nuzzling Lilac's cheek. "I guess I'm just not good enough yet? Do you think I was too forward?"

Minnie nuzzled her again and purred, comforting. Lilac smiled and scratched under her little Grimm's chin, earning a pleased noise. She stood and tapped her fingers against her weapon for a while, trying to think of what to do next. Finally, she returned her spear to her back and decided to head the other way, focusing on finding a new partner instead.


	3. Buddy-Buddy

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually really proud of this story, but I have to warn you that it does take my dad and I a while to work on this (also he mainly does writing for the villains, which I intend to introduce a little later XD). Hopefully you don't get bored waiting for updates... 
> 
> I plan on it being one chapter for every two episodes or something similar, and I may or may not go by seasons if I decide to write that far as well. Anyway, I hope you can still enjoy it no matter what :)
> 
> Edit: Seasons confirmed.

Isaiah huffed, adjusting her glasses for the fourth time in a minute. She had hit the ground over a half hour ago, and still there was no partner in sight. She eventually decided to just sit down under a tree in the moist grass for a while, huffing now that the day was starting and the temperature was heating up.

She started going over some of the new people in her head, the ones she'd seen and met. There was that prodigy girl, Rose or something, who'd skipped two years and been accepted. Then there was Ren and Nora, who Isaiah had informally met in the library while trying to check out the same book as Ren. She'd seen a couple of Faunus, a lion and... Something else, the girl had a bow on so she couldn't be sure, but she smelled somewhat cat-like. And finally, she thought she'd seen her childhood friend Neta. Most of them would be suitable partners. She hoped that if she was stuck with anyone, it would be Ren or the bow-wearing girl. Though they would all probably be skillful, she didn't want to be partnered with someone loud, and Ren seemed to have the same taste in books anyway.

There was a rustle in the bushes across from her, and before she could react, a red-head burst through the trees. He was wearing mostly black, with an orange-red sash around his hips. In his hands were a pair of chakrams, about the size of his forearm and hand together. His hair was disheveled and messy, but his russet eyes were bright with excitement. He had the tail of a lion, that swished quickly behind him, making her think he was like a giant puppy.

"Hey! Sorry I took so long to find you, partner! How are you?"

"Fine," Isaiah replied, standing. She dusted herself off, the dew had soaked through her suit, but it didn't really bother her. She started walking again, and the lion boy followed. She asked for someone quiet, and _this_  is who she got.

"My name's Arun Mahes, I'm a lion Faunus. My birthday is December 17th, making me a Sagittarius. I'm 17 and my blood type is A, my personality type is ENTP, but I'm not sure about that since I took like three tests, and my height is 5'4"--"

"Isaiah Isaac," She interrupted, leading him in the direction she assumed the relics to be in. She'd seen them from the air, so she only had a general idea of where they were on the ground.

Arun caught up to her quickly, exclaiming, "Isaiah's a really nice name! But if I call you Izzy once and a while, will that upset you?"

"I don't much care. Come on, this way." She turned to the left and kept walking. Arun ran to catch up again, and continued, "So anything you want to tell me about yourself? I said I was a lion Faunus, and I can tell you're one too. What type of Faunus are you?"

"This way," Isaiah instructed again, pointing. Arun was very good at keeping up with her long strides, despite being much shorter than her.

Arun leaned forward while he walked and looked up at her, asking, "Come on, don't you wanna get to know each other? We're partners now, right?" 

Isaiah adjusted her glasses, saying, "We'll have time for meet and greets later, right now we need to find the relics."

"But Isaiah..." Arun whined.

"This way," She commanded, veering right.

* * *

Tristan blew a leaf out of his face, and tried to adjust himself into a more comfortable position. Not only was his braid tangled up in the tree somewhere, his backpack was digging uncomfortably into his shoulders, his limbs were twisted in weird positions, and he was stuck upside down. Well, hey, it could be worse, he guessed.

"Thank you!" He heard someone else call nearby. Tristan twisted slightly, so he could see a blonde pinned to a tree with a red spear. So yeah, he probably had a partner already. Tristan was cool with that, he wanted to be paired up with a cute girl anyway.

"Hey! Yo!" He called out, making the blonde look around. "In the tree. To your right."

"Oh," The blonde answered, and looked over. "I still don't see you."

"That's cuz I'm actually in the tree, bruh," Tristan replied, snickering. 

The blonde nodded, looking around again. He whistled something, then said, "Jaune Arc. You?"

"Call me Tristan," He said. "So, uh, nice weather we're having huh?"

Jaune snorted, "Yeah. Really warm. I like it that way."

"Yup. Who's spear?" Tristan asked.

"Not sure. I think it's Pyrrha's," Jaune answered. Speaking of Pyrrha, the redhead sauntered under Tristan's tree and towards Jaune. She smiled up at him in greeting. He smiled back at her making Tristan huff. Maybe if he did a little maneuvering to show off how cool he was, she'd ditch Jaune for him. Or not, he wasn't sure, the rules said nothing about that.

He made a grab for his weapon, managing to twist his arm enough to get a hand on his backpack- he felt it unfold and reform in his hand, the familiar trigger of Blowtorch forming under his finger. He smirked down at the gleaming graphite gun, using his semblance to make the whole thing _glow_.

Pyrrha had just gotten Jaune down when the tree next to them ignited into a blazing ball of blue flames. She could feel the waves of heat wash across the grass, singing the leaves of other trees and the tops of the grasses and shrubs. In the center of the flames twirled a tall boy, his movement seemed to be halted somewhat in midair- he was holding a flamethrower in one hand, a one strap bag in the other, his braided hair whipping behind him. Time seemed to catch up with him, and he finished his spin, falling to the floor. He struck a strong pose, legs wide, the gun draped over one shoulder, and grinned confidently at Pyrrha as the remains of the tree burned behind him.

It would have been the picture of the most confident Hunter, if his braid didn't wrap around his neck and jaw if only to slap him in the forehead.

Tristan yelped, struggling to unwrap the braid. Pyrrha started laughing, even Jaune let out a snort. "What a grand entrance."

"Shut up, dude," Tristan said, rolling his eyes. "At least I got myself out of my own tree."

He strapped his weapon back on his back and waltzed over to Pyrrha, delicately taking her hand. He bowed and kissed it lightly, as his parents had taught him to do- it was a show of respect towards a lady. "Hello there, beautiful. What's a lovely huntress like yourself doing in these parts?"

"I was searching for my partner," she played along, glancing at Jaune. "And I think I've found him."

"Well, Madame, I suppose it's best if we get going?" He asked, smiling up at her. For about two second, Jaune looked hurt, until Pyrrha laughed lightly and pulled her hand away. "Yes, we should. We still need to find _your_ partner. Let's hurry then~" She dragged Jaune with her, leaving Tristan in the dust.

He blinked, stunned for a moment, then whistled. Witty and pretty, and considering how she'd nailed Jaune to a tree by his hood without killing him, definitely skillful. A spear, red hair, gold armor- It clicked in his head. Tristan started screaming internally, fanning himself as he jumped around. Pyrrha Nikos, he had just talked with Pyrrha freaking Nikos- 

He was alright with not making it through initiation. He talked with a walking goddess, his life was complete and he could die happy now.

* * *

Wiley sprinted through the forest, determined to find herself a suitable partner. She'd passed four people now, all of them running in the opposite direction as her, who tried to look at her but she ignored. She didn't want anybody weak, but she didn't want them to show her up either. She wanted someone on the same level as her.

As she ran, she picked up a foul, dusty scent. Red eyes ignited in the shadows near her, and she was suddenly aware of too many Boarbatusks following her. She picked up her pace using her semblance to elevate her feet and run a little faster, if she could get to the clearing just ahead...

As Wiley burst through the bushes, she turned towards the hoard, skidding back on her hands and toes. Five Grimm tore apart the underbrush, charging at her. She rushed forward, using some of the wind she'd gathered while running to boost her speed a bit. The adrenaline kicked in and Wiley felt alert to everything around her, including the half-Faunus that had rushed into the clearing behind her. He fell into step, just on her tail, and they charged in one direction, the tips of his boots skimming her heels. Wiley stepped out of his way, kneeling down and sweep kicking to throw a Boarbatusk into the air so he could saw it in half. 

She clawed at the oncoming Boarbatusks from behind him, a trio of condensed spear-like winds flying at it. They drilled into it's side making it squeal in pain. The Grimm that the other Faunus had charged at lay disintegrating on the ground, two Grimm standing over it. Wiley barely had to glance over to know that she had to stand, take two steps to her left, and jump slightly, bringing her foot down hard on the first Boarbatusk's head. Reenforced with wind power, the kick shattered it's skull, one of it's tusks breaking off. She hit the floor, swiveled around to low kick at the second Boarbatusk, broke from the tight circle just enough to get some range, and back flipped.

Up and over she went, just as the other guy turned around again. She landed on the Grimm, making it squeal, back rolling off it's small body. She heard the roar of a chainsaw and blinked slowly enough that she missed what the other guy had done, until he yelled, "In the air!"

He kneeled down and she ran at him, vaulting off his back. She met the boar halfway, slashing at it's exposed underbelly with the four claws on her knuckles. It squealed, disintegrating into dust before it even hit the ground. 

Wiley plummeted back to earth, crouching to disperse the impact, then stood again in an offensive position. The half-Faunus behind her had also stopped, sheathing his blade as he stood.

The two halted, back to back. Reg left his hand on the hilt of his blade, and commanded, "Don't turn around."

Wiley froze, not too offended. "Faunus?"

"Yeah." She answered. 

Reg hummed. "Well you're not Weiss Schnee then..."

"But my name does start with W." Wiley smirked back. 

Reg rolled his eyes. "So you're not Pyrrha Nikos either. I don't want to be partners with you then."

"Well I don't like the way you're talking, so I don't want to be partners with you," Wiley harrumphed back. 

He rolled his eyes again. "Then let's go our separate ways?"

"Obviously." The two red-heads took off sprinting in opposite directions, making sure to not even glance back. Reg was sure he was still going the right way, his gut told him so- and as a bird Faunus, even only half, he knew that his gut was telling him the right thing. A sudden wave of heat washed over the valley, and he slowed to a walk to look around. Off in the distance, small plume of smoke rose into the sky, the very tips of blue flames seen just under it. He narrowed his eyes at the offending flames, destroying a tree like that... What a reckless individual.

To his left, a small flick of a tail caught his eyes, and he instinctively closed them. It probably wasn't Pyrrha or Weiss, meaning he had no reason to open his eyes. The rules stated that you and your partner had to make eye contact... It didn't say that Reg and potential partners couldn't talk with their eyes closed.

"Who's there?"

"Just Kazh," Kazh answered, leaning against a tree. He was standing on a high-up branch, his bike slung over his shoulder as usual, two light blue tails swishing behind him. If Reg really focused, he could hear the sound of them. What were they? His semblance or something...?

Reg nodded, keeping his eyes closed. "Alright. Well, I suppose I can entertain a small conversation. I've run into nothing and no one but trouble."

"Trouble? Ooh, sounds exciting! What kind of trouble?" Kazh asked.

"The less exciting kind," Reg retorted. He started walking again, Kazh calling out, "Wait man, tell me about it!"

Reg sighed. "It was the kind of trouble involving Boarbatusks and avoiding eye contact. A hassle, really, it would have been easier to just assign us partners."

"But where's the fun then!" Kazh stated, pushing off from the trunk of the tree. "I mean, it's like a--" 

He suddenly oomphed, making Reg almost open his eyes. He refused to. There was a bark, a growl, and a sudden yelp from Kazh. There was the sound of his foot slipping, before both him and his bike crashed into the bushes, and the growling and barking got even more consistent. Reg jolted and opened his eyes at the loud noises, Kazh must have been suddenly ambushed by Grimm, and even if Reg didn't want him as a partner he couldn't just let him die-He whipped around at the crunching of bones and glanced up to see-- 

"Oh no." 

Kazh stared back, blue eyes wide open. Standing next to him were a pair of small foxes, glowing blue to match his tails. One was crushing a dried branch in it's mouth, mimicking the sound of breaking bones.

Reg's mouth opened and closed, his brows furrowing. He was surprised, outraged, he-- he could even find words to describe how utterly _pissed_ he was.

"You- But I-- That's not fair!!"

"Welcome to the club, _Partner_."

"No! No way! My partner can't be you-- You tricked me-!!" Kazh hopped down, the foxes following, and gathered his bike from the bushes. He pat one of them, then let out a focused exhale, and both the foxes and tails disappeared. 

He strode over to Reg and held out his hand. "Nice to meet you. I'm Kazh Yule, what's your name?"

Reg stormed off, positively fuming. Kazh grinned and chased after him, calling, "Wait up, Fancy-pants! I didn't catch your name!"

* * *

Neta tread cautiously, looking out for any Grimm coming his way. He didn't see or hear any, not in the area. He gripped one of his spears in one hand, the other a collapsed blade in it's holster. He felt that having at least one weapon out would be better than none at all, in case a Grimm or some other form of an enemy came his way.

He paused to look around at the forest. The tall, lush green foliage, with thick and healthy tree trunks. It was a beautiful forest in truth, but the markers of each year of students was evident- a slash or burn here, a stump there, an arrow or two laying broken where an archer had missed. Neta was so caught up in his observations he once again, didn't hear the girl until she had physically slammed into him.

The two tumbled, a bark-like grunt sounding from her, and she landed under him with one clawed hand at his throat. His spear was next to one of her ears, slicing clean through a small lock of hair. His light pink eyes met her bright green orbs, and neither said a thing.

Neta opened his mouth, then closed it. Her eyes were searching his face, she was sizing him up, judging him. That made him a little worried, she didn't look like the most sympathetic judge. Finally she rolled her eyes and said, "Off, please."

He moved mechanically, helping her up. She dusted herself off, then held out a hand. "Wiley."

"Neta," He answered, shaking her hand. Her claws- gloves- whatever-the-heck-they-we're's were cold on his bare hand, as was the slight breeze that rushed up his arm at the touch. 

"So, why don't we find those relics?" Wiley "Straight to the Point" O'Syrah. 

"Yeah. Do you have your weapon with you?" Neta asked. 

She clawed at the air, her gloves glinting in the light. "Right here. Isn't she cute?"

Neta wrinkled his nose. "How could _those_  be your weapon? They don't even look sturdy."

Wiley's ear twitched, and she gave Neta and annoyed look. "Oh well what do you have? Some stick you can use as a bow? I see you've got arrows and nothing to use them with."

"That's not true, I have a bow," Neta defended. Wiley rolled her eyes and started walking away, her long hair swishing behind her as she walked. 

"Yeah, right. Just like how you've got a couple of books under your jacket, eh? Some snack food too, maybe?"

He patted down his vest, then narrowed his eyes at her in a glare. What was she, a psychic?

"So what's your semblance then? I'd like to know so I can work with you," Neta asked, conversational. 

"Aerokinesis. Your's?" 

Neta was silent for a moment. He wasn't sure how best to explain it, and he didn't want to tell her he wasn't that skilled with it either. She didn't ask again when they lapsed into silence. Her long strides were hard to keep up with. 

"Could you slow down a little?" He asked, jogging to catch up with her. 

"What, is a little walk too hard for you?" 

Neta wrinkled his nose at her, muttering, "No, I'd just rather not waste all my energy trying to keep up with you."

"Aren't you a future huntsman? Walking a little faster shouldn't be a problem," Wiley snapped, picking up her pace even more. Nero grimaced, she must have been testing him. 

Before he could send another biting comment her way, she stopped, her ears perked high. He followed suit, looking around- whatever she was hearing, he wasn't--

A crash followed by a scream came from their left. The two jumped away from each other as another person flew between them and slammed into a tree, sliding to the floor as though he'd passed out.

"I-I'm sorry I didn't mean to hit you that hard-!"

"What the..." Neta muttered, staring between the orange-haired girl and the guy on the floor. He recognized them both from their respective run-ins in the library the day before. "Tristan? Lilac?"

"Whodat?" Tristab slurred. Lilac was instantly at his side trying to help him up. "Hi, uh... Greenie. Can you use your Aura?"

"What- Greenie-?" Neta questioned, earning a snarky laugh from Wiley. He sent her a glare that she returned with a haughty smirk.

"Yeah, yeah, gimme a sec. You just punched me through a tree. A thin tree, I'll give you that, but a tree nonetheless-" Tristan babbled, until Wiley shook her head and cut him off. "Quiet. Heal. Now." 

"Wow, way to be brisque," Neta remarked, crossing his arms. Wiley sent an annoyed look his way, crossing her arms to mimic him.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm on it." He mumbled. Neta was pretty sure he saw some blood running down the back of Tristan's head, but that quickly disappeared- a teal-colored light enveloped Tristan and healed the concussion, at least as much as an Aura could. He shook his head, rubbing his eyes with his palms, then glared playfully at Lilac. "A woman with a strong punch. I like that."

She flushed punk and looked away from him. "Do guys like you ever learn your lessons! Ugh! D-don't flirt with me." 

He chuckled lightly, helping her stand up, and bowing once he was finished. "May I at least introduce myself again?" 

"I guess, yeah." she replied. "I'm Lilac Tegeen."

"Pleasure to meet you, Lilac. My name is Tristan. I look forward to working with you." The blonde smiled, bowing again. Lilac couldn't help but smile, but quickly turned around before he could see. Wiley crossed her arms when Lilac turned that bright smile on her, asking "So what's your name?" 

"Wiley," The coyote replied. Nero shrugged and introduced himself as well, first name only as per usual.

"Hey man, I remember you. Library loser, right?" Tristan held out his hand for a brofist.

"I remember you, feet-on-desk loser, right?" Neta retorted, hesitantly returning the brofist. Tristan laughed at him.

Lilac looked to the floor. "I forgot your name, I'm sorry for calling you Greenie..." 

"Hey, it's fine, I've been called worse." Neta smiled at her. "Nice to see you two again."

"Yeah." Lilac agreed. Tristan nodded and grinned.

Wiley turned away from them while saying, "Well, with that out of the way, it's time to get moving again. Everyone's probably waiting for us at Beacon's entrance." 

"Dude, what's her problem?" Tristan muttered to Neta. He shrugged, answering, "She's just like that."

"Known her long?"

"Nah. We just met, I... I hope our partnership isn't always like this." 

"She seems very... Distant," Lilac said, shrugging a bit. 

Speaking of 'she,' Wiley turned back to them from up ahead and yelled, "Guys, get a move on!"

Oh yes, very distant. When did she get so far ahead?


	4. Mixed Responses

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I don't know who's reading this but I'm sure you've heard the news... I have no words to express the deep sadness I feel over this hard loss, or for the sympathy I can give to Monty's family and the RT staff and community as a whole. I hope that we, especially Sheena and Monty's relatives, as well as the RT Staff, can get through this, and I hope that we will be able to keep working hard and continue to remember and be inspired by Monty Oum. 
> 
> Rest in peace, man. You were- Are- amazing, and will be dearly missed.

"The last three pairs have been formed. Lie Ren and Nora Valkyrie, Neta Savage and Wiley O'Syrah, and Tristan- Gracious, what a long name- Aegeon-Teale and Lilac Tegeen." Glynda Goodwitch reported to Professor Ozpin.

He took a sip of his coffee, nodding to show he was listening. But he wasn't really, not fully at least. His mind was elsewhere. He was considering the new students, and how they'd fare working together. He knew Ruby Rose and Weiss Schnee had been partnered earlier on, and was curious to see how his old friend's niece was doing.

"Honestly, I feel sorry for the poor boy," Glynda ranted behind him, pacing. She was talking about Lie Ren. She'd been up to this for some time, he supposed. "And that Lilac girl is much to timid for this kind of work, I wish she'd stop apologizing so much. Plus the Grimm she's keeping as a pet could be a hazard. How irresponsible, what if it attacks somebody?"

"Hm," Ozpin agreed, just to keep her talking. Honestly, he loved Glynda, she was one of his closest friends, but she could be too judgmental sometimes.

"And I don't understand why you'd let a White Fang member into this academy, with the rising tensions there could be controversy-"

"I'm sure you see her potential, though?" Ozpin interrupted, making Glynda stop her pacing to look at him.

"I do not believe in privilege by race, religion, or political standing. I believe in equality in education for everyone, Faunus or human, White Fang or not. Besides, don't you think that by letting her into this school, we're opening arms to the White Fang in a way that hasn't been done before due to politics?"

"I never disagreed with that," Glynda huffed, "I was just saying things could get out of hand--"

"Do not let your judgement get the better of you. Miss O'Syrah may be part of the White Fang, but she is here for a reason, and that must not be overlooked. If she causes any trouble, I'll deal with it myself," Ozpin assured, turning to Glynda. The shorter woman stood strong, staring at the professor with those intense green eyes of hers.

A ping sounded from her tablet. They both looked down, to see a brunette and a grey-haired boy gathering up one of the Relics. "It seems our first pair of partners has found the relics." 

* * *

They were close now, she could feel it. Isaiah lead Arun through the bushes, feeling at the ground every so often for vibrations. As a newt Faunus, she had the ability to sense some minor vibrations in the ground- mostly movement. She also had an uncanny sense of smell, and night vision like many Faunus had.

Arun trailed behind her, slowly and with relative silence. He'd complain every so often, "Isaiah, it's so hot out..." "Isaiah, do you want some water? I'm a little thirsty..." "Izzy, talk to meeee..."

She found it less annoying than cute at that point. However, cute things also got annoying pretty fast, and if Arun started to get on her nerves... Good luck to him.

"Isaiah, do you smell that?"

Isaiah sniffed the air. A few different smells came to her- Some humans, two men, two women- and a cat. There was a Faunus amongst them, probably the one with the bow. The other girl smelled of light perfume and gunpowder. Isaiah couldn't get a clear read on the two men, but their scent was quickly retreating. "Yes. The other students?"

He grinned at her in agreement, and she crossed her arms.

"Not like I hadn't figured that out already. I was feeling the ground because I can feel minor vibrations of people walking and such--"

"Wait really? That's what you were doing?!" Arun exclaimed, his tail wagging furiously behind him. "That is so cool! So like, what are you, an armadillo? A bee or bug? Even a bat? How about a dolphin?!"

"H-hey-!!" Isaiah jumped, trying to shoo Arun away as he started excitedly sniffing her. She huffed and adjusted her glasses, saying, "No sniffing. I'm a newt Faunus. Feeling vibrations is the least of my abilities."

"A newt! Can you climb on walls? Change colors? Ew, do you eat bugs?!" He interrogated. Honestly, he was like a five-year-old.

"That's geckos, that's cameleons, and no I don't eat bugs, thank you. Just because I'm a lizard Faunus does not mean I eat like one," Isaiah answered. 

Arun grinned happily, his tail slowing down only slightly. "So what else can you do?"

"I heal quickly. I have a sharp nose. I can breathe underwater sometimes. Night vision," Isaiah stated. "Simple things like that."

"Simple!" Arun exclaimed. "No way! Breathing underwater is... That's incredible! I wish I could do that..."

"Well what _can_ you do?" She asked, trying to sound curious. It came out more judgmental to her ears. Arun didn't seem to notice, and went right on talking. 

"Well, I have a good sense of smell. And I can run quickly, but that's mostly the help of my semblance. And I can fight too, but who can't do that at this school!" He explained. "I've got good hearing, I'm strong but not as strong as my papa, but I don't think that counts as an ability... And uh... A tail."

"A tail."

"Yup! It's pretty helpful. Watch!" Arun suddenly threw a punch at her face, making her gasp and block his hand. He stepped out of her range, his tail wrapping around her leg and jerking back, making her slide forward slightly. He then moved in again, still holding her knee with his tail and pushed her shoulders, shoving her down. His tail wrapped around her wrist before she actually fell and held her up, allowing her some time to regain her footing.

She adjusted her glasses upon standing, whispering, "That is pretty cool."

"Huh? What was that?"

"Effective! Your tail is effective," She rushed to say, turning away from him and slapping his cheek with a few of her longer dreads.

Arun laughed. "Well, if the relics are just ahead, we should probably go grab one, right?"

"Yes--" The sudden shrill screech of a Grimm overhead caught their attention, and the students looked up to see a Nevermore flying over them. It was circling just above the relics, flying right past them. Hanging from one of it's feet was a girl in all white, and another with a red hood. 

"Are those students? What are they doing?" Isaiah asked, adjusting her glasses with one hand.

"It must have snatched them up along the way!" Arun yelled, drawing one of his chakrams off of his back. "We've gotta help them!"

He threw the weapon, aim precise, but the Grimm was flying just a bit too fast. Arun used his semblance to speed up the time flow of his chakram, so it crashed into the bird's lower back and skimmed it instead of missing completely. The small blade bounced off of it's back harmlessly, making the bird screech in anger, or maybe annoyance. It circled once more on the prowl for the offending hunter, sharp eyes looking for movement in the trees. As it swooped back around, the girl in red dropped from it's foot. A short time later, so did the girl in white.

"It dropped them!" Arun yelled. "Let's go!"

Isaiah sighed in defeat, and used her own semblance to make the chakram drop straight to the ground. "There are more people there to help them. We'll get the relics in a minute. Let's get your weapon back first."

"But they-"

"Trust me Arun," she held his shoulder in one hand, "They'll be fine."

* * *

Reg stormed through the forest, shooting down any attempt Kazh had to talk with him. He was still utterly pissed off, and was praying that whatever Karma was being dished out to him could be repaid, _just please don't let me be stuck with him._

 He was so caught up in his thoughts he failed to notice something small, orange, and bladed plummeting down to earth.

"Dude, Reg-"

"No! I refuse to speak!"

"But you're talking. Anyway, you should-"

"Nuh-uh, no way, I will not!"

"But Reg, seriously--"

The blade was so close now. Reg shut his eyes, shook his head, and took two long strides. One more and he'd probably get sliced in half... "Reggie! Watch out!"

"Reggie-!!" Reg fumed, stopping in his tracks and turning to face Kazh. The object whizzed past the back of his head and embedded itself in the ground, shaving off a few hairs from his Mohawk. The red-head blinked in disbelief, then jumped forward, stumbling into Kazh. 

"You could have gotten me killed!" He yelled, punching Kazh in the shoulder.

"Killed! I was trying to save your life! You're welcome." Kazh rubbed his arm as he grinned back. Reg growled in frustration, throwing his hands in the air and knocking Kazh's hat a bit out of place. 

"I can't believe this!" Reg yelled. "What did I ever do to deserve this kind of thing!! Why couldn't I get a serious partner, someone actually qualified to go to Beacon!"

Kazh fixed his hat, one of his ears shifting slightly, and shrugged his shoulders, the usual smile of his had been replaced by a light frown. "I dunno. But we're gonna be stuck together for another four years, like it or not, so we have to get to know each other. And like each other."

"You know what my older brother always said? 'Liking is not required.' I'll work with you as much as I need to," Reg hissed back. He moved away to examine the round weapon in the ground, stuck about halfway in. It had a black-and-orange color scheme, with gold blades that looked like teeth. Oddly, the grips were parallel instead of crossed, with a second grip peeking out from just above the ground. 

Kazh wheeled his bike over and plopped onto the seat, taking his feet off of the ground and balancing himself like a pro. "Have you seen if before?"

"No, I haven't. Have you?"

"I'd have said something if I did," Kazh remarked, grinning. 

Reg rolled his eyes. "Why did I even bother."

* * *

Isaiah and Arun sprinted through the underbrush, a small hoard of Ursa flanking them. Oooh, they were in trouble now. Arun was still down a weapon, and Isaiah was not good in non-stationary fights. The Ursa snarled and growled, allowing the two students to count at least four. Arun's scent just barely lead ahead of them, leading to the chakram.

"Can you use your semblance to slow the Grimm down?"

"No!" Arun gulped a breath of air. "Can you use yours to make them heavier?"

"I'm not good at anything while I'm moving like this!" Isaiah replied. She pushed on, but her legs ached and burned, her feet soaked from the grass and mud. The Nevermore was flying above them, firing feathers down at the alter. Sucks for the students there, but at least there were clear markers.

"Alright, here's what we're gonna do--" Arun started, eyeing the pair of Ursa on his right. There as another small handle in addition to the two parallel ones on his remaining chakram, allowing him to hold it like a Katar or a shield. "I'm gonna distract one long enough for you to focus and slow them down. Does that work?"

"We might as well just let them surround us and take them down when we have your second chakram back," Isaiah countered. They burst into a clearing, open space surrounded by lush trees, with the Ursa falling slightly behind. Across the clearing was Arun's missing weapon, with two people sitting near it. One actually had a chair of sorts.

"Hey!" Arun called out. The smaller of the two immediately looked up- he had dark skin and vibrant red hair, bright red eyes watching the new partners closely. The lion made a hand motion like he wanted them to move, glad that at least one understood. The red-head shooed the other guy away, just far enough that Arun could scoop up his chakram as he ran. He finally slowed to a stop, holding his weapon close. 

"Yay~! Sekhmet Rising is no longer parted~" Arun cheered, nuzzling his weapon.

Isaiah ran up to Reg, breathing a bit quicker than usual. She pushed her glasses up her nose with her whole hand and watched Arun closely. His tail was swishing back and forth, making her afraid he'd hit the guy next to him. The guy, Kazh, seemed perfectly content where he was sitting, grinning at the shorter Faunus. Reg turned to her. "Your partner?"

She hummed in agreement. He nodded. "Want to ditch him with mine?"

She hummed in disagreement. "Sorry, you're stuck with him."

Reg wanted to bristle, but he expended all his energy on being pissed at Kazh. He couldn't be bothered to be ticked at anyone else. "That's fine, I'll just find someone else."

"You know the partner system is about personal growth, right?" Isaiah commented. "You may be partnered with someone you don't like, but you'll have to work through it. It's not about picking and choosing either. That's how life goes, and getting a random partner is a lesson in itself. Who knows, they may teach you something."

"That's a lot to say for someone out of breath," He remarked sarcastically. She just stared down at him and muttered, "Whatever, that's your loss, shorty."

"Sh-shorty-!!" Reg screeched, making Isaiah cover her ears. "I'm not sh--"

"Reggie, who're you chatting with? Old friend? Acquaintance? _Girl_ friend?" Kazh slung an arm over Reg's shoulder and leaned down next to him, drawing out the girl in girlfriend. Reg felt his cheeks burn and struggled to get away, shrieking insults and "No, I don't even know her!" all the while. Isaiah rolled her eyes and strolled over to Arun, who had now clipped both of his chakrams to his arms and was holding them like Katars.

"Is that why they're parallel?" She asked, motioning to the bars running through the centers.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. There's another form that I'll have to show off later, but using them like this wasn't what I intended originally." He grinned confidently, like whatever accident had happened was the smartest thing in the world, and placed his hands on his hips. "Anyway, we should probably--"

The four Ursa from earlier burst from the bushes, making the two sets of partners yelp. The Grimm surrounded them, pushing them back to back, growling low and menacingly. Arun held up his hands and muttered, "Or maybe I can show you now."

"Do you really need the second form of a weapon to fight such pathetic Grimm?" Reg muttered. 

Kazh snickered to himself, then said, "At least he's prepared enough to use it. I'm a little curious now."

Arun's tail swished once in Isaiah's direction, brushing the back of her leg. She unhooked her boleros from her belt, wrapping the metal grip around her hands. She stepped out slightly and started swinging one of them in a circle, breaking up their close formed group. Reg drew his sword as he moved away. Arun bent his knees more and cocked his head, staring an Ursa down. Kazh swung his leg over the seat of his bike, keeping one foot on the pedal. "Alright guys, let's make this four one-on-ones. On three, we fight."

Isaiah hummed an okay, using her free hand to adjust her glasses, Arun gave an "Understood!" and Reg hissed, "What made you leader?"

"I'm the guy with the plans. Three!" Kazh yelled, and took off on his bike. Reg revved the chainsaw on his blade and rushed forward, dodging a strike from the Ursa, then deflecting another. He braced for impact that pushed him off to the side, then creating the illusion of himself standing poised for a block. The Ursa slammed into the illusion, roaring in rage when it's hand slid right through the mirage. Where could the bloody human be?! Reg came up from under it's extended arm, sawing clean through it's bicep. The Ursa stumbled back, giving Reg time and an opening to ready his next attack. He hit the floor, held his blade by his face, then jumped forward and knocked it over, stabbing through the Ursa's chest. It roared in more anger than pain, as Reg swept his blade to the side to sever it's neck and kill it.

Isaiah had an easier time with hers, bringing the already swinging bolero down on the Ursa's head when _it_ rushed her. She clicked a button on the had guard, firing a bullet into it's skull, then hopped back. The cube spun around and into the Grimm's chin from under as it stood, and she clicked another two buttons. The gun in the corner fired at the Ursa's chin, sending few teeth flying from it's mouth. It stumbled back with a roar the exoskeleton on it's face cracked and smoking. She moved in closer, swinging both boleros at it, and when it swung to stop them she pressed a few more buttons on the hand guard so the guns in the corners fired, the momentum redirecting the trajectory of her weapons to avoid the Ursa's claws. She tugged her hands across her body wrapping both boleros around the Ursa's neck to drag it to the floor, then hopped onto it's back, untangling her weapons. She spun Law and Energize once above her head and brought them down hard, increasing the gravity on them enough to crush the Grimm's skull and face. Kazh had merely been toying with his, riding in circles around it. Finally, the Ursa seemed fed up and swung directly at his bike, knocking him off balance. Kazh flew up, but before he could hit the ground, did a flip in midair and pulled himself off of the bike, landing with a graceful spin. He crouched low and swung his bike in a circle across his shoulders to make the Ursa step back. In a flash he was on his bike again, doing a wheeley to get higher up, then spinning around on the handlebars like a break dancer to kick the Ursa in the neck. It groaned and stumbled back, allowing Kazh to land on it and pedal off, digging a large gash into it's stomach. It started smoking, signaling it's death.

Arun also seemed to be toying with his Ursa, backing a way from it when it swung. His whole attack seemed to be expertly coordinated, like he'd planned it in advance and had just been waiting. His first move was to toss a Chakram, but behind the Ursa. Isaiah, finished with her fight and watching him, didn't see how this could be relative- not until he started to back up further, get away from the Ursa as it tried to punch and slap him. He teased it, drawing it in, then rushed forward while it was mid-step. The lion clasped his hands together and brought them down, hard, right under the Grimm's foot. A crater appeared under it, tossing it up into the air. He tore his second Chakram off his arm and threw it, skimming the Ursa's shoulder and turning it somewhat in midair. The second Chakram bounced off the first, which had been stopped in midair, hovering and barely moving forward at all, bouncing off of it and flying straight back at the Ursa with lightning speed. It rammed into it's chest and knocked it into the crater, where Arun ran across, did an aerial flip over the crater to grab his chakram, then caught the second with his tail. He stood, pulling it off and standing offensively, Sekhmet Rising held in his hands like one would hold Katars.

Kazh whistled, he was sitting on the handlebars of his bike and balancing it on one wheel. Reg flicked his sword and returned it to it's sheathe with an elegant spin, wiping his hands when he was done. Isaiah pulled off her glasses, rubbed her eyes, and put them back on. "You're not as strong as your father."

"Nope...? I'm the baby of the family, of course I'm not as strong!" Arun grinned at her.

"Did you just make a crater in the ground?" Reg asked, jaw falling slack. 

Kazh whistled again, clapping his hands. "That's a pretty impressive feat on it's own."

"Well my papa can make earthquakes," Arun said, puffing out his chest. Isaiah couldn't tell if he was just admiring and exaggerating his father's powers, or was actually talking about his semblance. Either was plausible, and kids did tend to boast about their parents if they admired them...

"I told you this was the correct way, I can't believe we let you lead us that far astray!" A female voice screeched, the possessor of the voice cutting her way through the bushes and vines. She had incredibly long wine-colored hair, and an asymmetric outfit, her sleeve missing on her left arm to expose a tattoo. She had a pair of coyote ears protruding from her head, mostly hidden by messy bangs. She trained her acid green eyes on the group ahead of her, stalking forward at quick pace. Three other people appeared behind them, a green-haired boy with an orange headband and yellow safety glasses, a blonde in a brown jacket and an orange-haired girl in white armor and a light purple dress. 

One, the other girl, called out to her, "Wiley! You're going too fast! Can't you even slow down a little?"

Isaiah's eyes locked on Neta. He glanced up and also seemed to notice her, but didn't say anything. Kazh smirked and waved at the Faunus in the lead. "Wiley! I knew we'd see each other eventually. How're y--"

"No time to explain," She muttered, gripping Arun's face and pushing him out of the way when he tried to come talk to her. Isaiah rolled her eyes, but was surprised when Reg stepped in front of the on-coming Faunus.

"Hey."

"Hey what, short stack?" She stopped right in front of him, staring down her nose. 

He narrowed his eyes. "You're that Faunus who fought those Boarbatusks with me earlier. Are you trying to ditch your partner?" 

"I'm not about to take you. You didn't even want to partner with me in the first place, remember?" She spit to the side. "Moron."

"I'll take anyone other than him at this point." Reg motioned to Kazh, who feigned looking hurt. Neta had come over and was leaning on his own knees next to Kazh, panting heavily. Isaiah's eyes widened when rose orbs met black, and she turned away from him. Though he was her childhood friend, they hadn't seen each other in _years_ , due to their parents having a falling out... If her father found out they went to school together, surely he would take her out of Beacon. With that threat looming over her, she wasn't sure if they could go back to being friends at all. Kazh pat Neta's back, making him cough. He watched Isaiah turn away, wanted to talk to her like they did when they were way younger, but what if she didn't want to talk? His parents had used her father after all... Alas, he couldn't find the breath either. No, if it would get her taken out of Beacon, he wouldn't talk to her at all.

"Girlfriend of yours?"

"No. Be quiet," Neta snapped, standing. He crossed his arms to watch his partner's interaction with Reg.

"Well you're out of luck kid, you can't swap partners. Sucks for you," Wiley stated, also crossing her arms. As annoyed as she was with Neta leading them the wrong way, Reg was a much worse person to have as a partner. Reg sighed exasperatedly, throwing his arms up. 

"You know what, forget it. Let's just go get the relics."

Arun had recovered by this point and said, "Isaiah and I found them earlier, we can lead you back."

"Take us there then," Kazh instructed with his signature grin, and flipped around on his bike.

Lilac ran up to them and started following close behind as they lead the group off. Behind her, she could see Wiley protesting but falling into step, with Reg rolling his eyes and Neta stalking up next to Tristan, who laughed. She looked between Isaiah and Arun and asked, "So, how was your day?"

Arun turned back and smiled at her. "It was exciting! I almost lost a chakram today though, but I still had fun doing it."

Isaiah couldn't help but smile as well. She adjusted her glasses and simply replied, "Good."

Lilac allowed herself a relieved smile. Finally, she could find people to talk to. Wiley's attitude had been setting her on edge since they met, it was nice to relax a bit. Minnie tentatively peeked out of her shoulder pad, stretching up to Lilac's neck to nuzzle her cheek. "It's alright to come out, yes."

They entered into the thicker part of the forest, where tall trees cast thick shadows across the ground. Lilac could barely even see Minnie on her shoulder. Tristan and Neta followed behind her, Reg behind them, and Kazh and Wiley brought up the rear. The two were talking quietly, in such a hushed voice even Minnie couldn't hear.

"I don't think I've ever seen anyone so annoyed," Kazh snickered, earning a light punch to his shoulder.

"Shut up. It's a bad habit of mine or something," Wiley replied. She had cooled down a little bit, and was now more tired than anything. Kazh let out a small laugh. 

"You and Reg are the same. He was so mad earlier he wouldn't even talk to me."

Wiley snorted. "Oh boy, I can't _wait_ to be on a team with him. Heaven forbid." 

They laughed at each other and continued talking. Neta could hear them fine, and if he was anyone else he'd be a little upset. But Wiley wasn't the kind of person he wanted to be partnered with- he hated that she was testing him by being rude and not listening, unless that was just her usual personality and he'd gotten it wrong. Plus she was a Faunus. Neta stopped himself right there. No, just because he was a Faunus didn't mean he had to judge her for that. Faunus were fine, not all of them were bad people. Wiley wasn't rude to him because she was a Faunus, she was rude because that was her personality.

He shook his head, mentally slapping himself. His parents were so racist towards Faunus that it had rubbed off on him. Sometimes the little judgements just slipped, and he hated himself for thinking them. He squashed the urge to add, "and she's a Faunus" to his list of reasons he disliked her. He had to unlearn that racism, she couldn't help being a Faunus, and not all Faunus were terrible people. Not all humans were the angels his parents held them up to be either. He stopped thinking about the topic altogether.

"Dude are you okay? You're shaking."

"What?" Neta looked up at Tristan, then unclenched his fists and rubbed at his arms. "Yeah, no, I'm fine."

Tristan nodded, his smile never leaving his face. "Alright man, if you say so. Anyway, when we get the relics, maybe we should aim for the same team? Since we've been stuck together all day."

Neta let out a laugh. "At this point I don't think Wiley can be teamed up with anyone but that guy." He motioned to Kazh. "Sorry man."

"Ah. Don't worry about it. I'll just forever remember the day you left me for another. Oh, my heart is breaking." Tristan placed a hand over his heart, and the other on his forehead and leaned back slightly. 

Neta punched his arm and snickered, "Shut up."

They trekked on in silence for another moment, the light cast from the clearing ahead causing Lilac, Isaiah, and Arun to become silhouettes. Reg could just barely make out Tristan's braid swinging behind him, the long, blonde hair as unkempt and messy as ever. He could barely believe that his younger brother of all people had gotten into Beacon, and that he even had a remote interest in hunting. Sure, the boy went to two years of Junior Combat School, but if he loved it so much why didn't he go farther?

Reg watched as the two groups in front of him exited the forest, into a large clearing with a crumbling temple in the center. Amongst the rubble was a circle of twenty pedestals, with different black and gold chess pieces. All were in pairs, with two for each color and piece, though some pairs were missing. Beyond the alter was an open valley, the view of the canyon beyond obstructed by large, black feathers.

Reg found himself mesmerized by the beauty of the place, until out of the corner of his eye, he saw something on Lilac's neck shift and draw his attention away. Apparently, Wiley saw it too, because she suddenly rushed forward, claws extended, and brought her hand hard down behind Lilac.

The girl screamed in surprise as a cold wind ran down her back, jumping forward and drawing her spear. The point of the spear flicked back and slid down, revealing a pointed tip and leaving a long, thin, rapier in her hand. Tristan instinctively moved to flank her, backing up when whatever was on her shoulder jumped at him. It landed lightly on his shoulder, then rushed around his neck and up to his head, messing up his hair. "lilac, what is this little guy?"

Wiley charged him before the orange-haired girl could answer, and slashed at his face. Tristan yelped and instinctively dodged, his hands flying to his head. The little creature jumped out of his hands and onto Wiley's, running up her outstretched arm. It jumped off of her shoulder and into her face, a surprising amount of force pushing against her as it kicked off of her forehead and sent her stumbling into Isaiah. Minnie jumped back into Lilac's arms, glaring pointedly at Wiley while Lilac sheathed her weapon. The Faunus growled in response, barking in anger and warning.

"Hey! Calm down now!" Kazh intervened, stepping between Lilac and Wiley.

"You have a Grimm!" Neta blurted out.

"Yes, clearly," Reg snapped. "Why?" 

"It's so cute!" Arun exclaimed. He slowly made his way over, holding a hand out to Minnie until she allowed him to scratch under her jaw and ears. "Aww, it's friendly."

"Why do you have a Grimm?" Neta asked, eyeing it curiously. Minnie's tail flicked back and forth, eyes shut in bliss. Lilac laughed, smiling at her companions. 

"Believe it or not, Minnie is my pet. She also happens to be my closest friend, so I'd appreciate it if you didn't try to attack her."

"Hey, I'm just sayin' hunters are trained to fight Grimm, so don't expect it to be received well," Wiley stated, rolling her eyes. Reg wanted to slap her, and though he didn't really support having a Grimm as a pet, he said, "Well, if she wants to keep it, she can. I don't remember there being any rules stopping her."

Wiley didn't have to be right _all_  of the time.

"Wow, thanks for the intelligent input-" Wiley muttered, only to be cut off by Tristan's much more authoritive, "Hey!"

The two looked at him. He was scowling deeply, light teal eyes burning with some kind of annoyed fire. "Not everyone enjoys listening to bickering you know."

"She started it," Reg snapped. 

Wiley punched her hand with a fist, saying, "Real mature! You wanna go-"

"Quiet!" Tristan demanded again. He rolled his eyes, then motioned to Reg. "Can I talk to you for a minute?"

"Anything, dearest brother," Reg mocked, bowing. He muttered it under his breath though, hoping no one picked that up. 

The two moved off to the side, Tristan throwing an arm around Reg's shoulders so he couldn't escape. "And what do you think you're doing here?"

"I'd ask you the same question," Reg mumbled.

"Is this why you left? Mom and dad were worried sick. So were Archie and Stuart. You could have at least told someone," Tristan quipped, then added, "Like me for instance. We could have been partners."

"Thanks but no thanks." Reg shrugged out of Tristan's hold. "You know exactly why I'm here."

"Reg, it's hopeless to try to find our parents. They abandoned us, they could be dead," Tristan said. 

Reg hissed, throwing his brother's arm back to his side. "Just because yours are doesn't mean mine suffered the same."

"I didn't mean it like that--"

"Don't discourage me. I know my parents are out there, and I'm going to find them." Reg stormed back to the group, motioning to Kazh. "Grab a Relic. We're done here, and it's time to get back."

"If you say so." Kazh smiled. He somehow wasn't surprised when Reg picked a Black King piece. Kazh snatched up the same piece on the opposite pedestal, and made his way over to his new friends.

Wiley was examining a Black Queen with Neta when the biker came over and nudged her shoulder. He pushed the relic into her hands, feigning embarrassment. "I felt bad that we weren't partners, so... Here," he beamed at the two of them, continuing, "On my behalf, I picked out a Relic for you."

Wiley looked between the Relic and Kazh's face, then burst out into sudden laughter that made Neta jump. He took the Relic, inspecting it, while Wiley regained her composure. "I really want to be mad at you, but I can't right now. What's stopping me from taking this Black Queen piece?"

"Like you said, you can't be mad at me," Kazh grinned. "And you know you wanna be on my team."

"Hey hey hey, hold up, who said it would be _your_  team?" Neta intervened. Reg also had come over, crossing his arms indignantly. 

"Yeah. I could be the leader for all you know," Reg stated, tilting up his chin. With his skill in battle and his serious nature, it was almost a sure thing he'd be picked as the leader of a team.

"How do you guys even know we'll be on teams?" Wiley asked, her ears drooping slightly. 

Kazh shrugged, "It was a rumor that I got a couple of upperclassmen to prove for me. They also offered tutoring and invited me to a party in like a week."

"Already?" Neta gawked. What happened to studying! 

Kazh shrugged his shoulders. "I still have yet to decide if I'll go. If I like you guys enough I'll stick around."

Meanwhile, across the clearing, Arun and Isaiah were picking pieces. "How about the Black Queen? I think I saw Wiley picking one too."

"I don't think I would be able to work with her, I'm sorry. Or Neta," Isaiah apologized. 

Arun nodded in understanding, then said, "What about this then?"

"The Black Rook?" She asked. He nodded in agreement. Isaiah reached out and picked it up, smiling fondly. "Do you know what this piece symbolizes?" 

"I don't. I've never played chess. Sorry!" The lion laughed apologetically, rubbing the back of his head. Isaiah shook her head, her dreads swishing across her back and shoulders. She said, "I used to play chess everyday with my father. This symbolizes the castle walls, the first in line of defense for the people and citizens. The walls are the sturdiest form of defenses, even more so than the Pawns that are thrown out first. To be a Rook is to be the strongest protector of the weak."

Arun nodded as she spoke, giving her a bright smile when she was done. "Strongest protector of the weak... I like the sound of that! Let's do it!"

Isaiah pocketed the piece and fixed her glasses, turning to see Tristan waving his own Black Rook. "Lil and I'll see you back at the cliffs then?"

"Don't call me Lil!" She demanded, then shrunk in on herself slightly and said, "Please."

"Lilac and I," he corrected, smiling charmingly at her. She crossed her arms and pouted. 

"Anyway, Initiation ends when we get back to the cliffs, so we should probably head back now," Tristan finished, placing the piece in his pocket.

"Agreed." Isaiah nodded, turning to Neta and his group. "Neta, it's time to go."

"Understood," He replied stiffly. "You heard her. Back to the cliffs."

"Who said we're taking orders from you two?" Reg snapped. 

Wiley smirked, her turn to one-up him. "At least they have a plan."

"What- why I never-- I'd have made a plan too," Reg stated indignantly. "Besides, you wouldn't have either."

"Who says, Short-stack? I bet my plans are better than yours any day." Wiley smirked, crossing her arms and leaning down to his level. 

He puffed out his chest, stepping forward to fight her, and demanded, "Are you gonna prove it, Faunus?"

"Hey, back off kiddo." She shoved him back, enhancing the push with her semblance. " _Don't_  crap on my race, I will _destroy you_. If you're at combat school, try to act your age-"

"Guys!" Neta stepped in. He was sick of this, especially from Wiley, and he made it known. He shoved a finger at Reg. "I am so tired of your pompous attitude and you-" he pointed at Wiley. "Your haughty attitude is really pissing me off! Just because you think you're better than us doesn't mean you can put the rest of us in a bad mood. And wanna talk about immaturity? Look at you! It's your way or no way at all. Learn to listen and take a lesson from yourself!"

Tristan whistled. "Dang Neta, didn't know you had it in you." 

Neta shot an annoyed glare a Tristan, but was thankful for the... Was it even encouragement? It seemed like it.

"Then with that settled, let's get moving. We need to be back at the cliffs in two hours, and it's going to be dark soon- plus, negative feelings draw Grimm to us," Isaiah explained, levelheaded as usual. Lilac let Minnie clamber back up to her shoulder, and nodded in agreement. 

"I'd be less worried about the Grimm and more about is fighting each other," Lilac said. "But it probably isn't the best idea to split up given the time, so let's stay as a group."

Wiley glared at Reg, Reg meeting her eyes. They said in unison. "I'd rather die first."

Lily furrowed her brow. "Ugh, so troublesome! Then why don't we try splitting up? Tristan and I will go with Kazh and we'll just meet you back at the cliffs."

"Fine with me. We'll meet you back there then," Neta agreed. 

Arun nodded, his tail wagging. He bounded over to Wiley. "This will be kinda fun, eh? I can't believe we're so close to being done."

She rolled her eyes and crossed her and as she looked away, but Arun did earn a small huff of agreement. He laughed at her good-naturedly.

Isaiah followed Reg over to the other two. "We ran into some Ursa that way, but the way is clear I'm pretty sure, so we'll go there. Don't know about the other way."

"Boarbatusks," Wiley and Neta said in unison. Neta finished, "We ran into and from some. There's only one way to go and that's to follow the others." 

He pointed towards the field desecrated by feathers. Behind that, in the distance, a smoke cloud rose, and he could just barely see some explosions bouncing off a Nevermore flying around. "Or we don't. Well, Boarbatusks it is. We're going that way, either follow us, follow them, or follow your own trail."

"We already decided, weren't you listening?" Tristan snarked with a grin, crossing his arms. 

Neta rolled his eyes. "Whatever. Just don't take too long getting back, we'll leave you behind."

"Same for you, Greenie."

Kazh grinned. "It's good to see everyone getting along." He earned mixed huffs and groans from the rest of the trainees. "Let's get going then. Tristy, Lil, Reggie, with me. We'll see you at the cliffs. Be safe."

"Understood," Lilac replied as they started walking off. "And please don't call me Lil!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And on that bombshell of a chapter... I may come back and edit this later (but probably not because I'm lazy and this is long as hECK lol...) I don't know when the next update will be, but expect two to three chapters, a new species of Grimm, the Thugs to be introduced, and lots of fluffy team bonding-ness. Thanks for reading, and I wish you a good and happy week :) If you need or want someone to talk to, I'm here, guys. We can work through this together.


	5. He's Your Brother?!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whew, finally an update! This is the conclusion to the initiation ceremony, finally- It's mostly just a big fight to show off powers and weapons haha 
> 
> Also, when team TIAL name is said, it's pronounced "Teal." KRWN is pronounced crown, and ORNJ is orange. The others are said in the show, in I think the tail end of episode 8? Yeah haha Anyway, please enjoy :)

Now split into two teams, and determined to make it back to the cliffs before the deadline, the run back went a lot smoother than anyone thought. Wiley thanked the stars she learned to use her semblance to boost her speed at a young age, allowing her to basically run on wind. Slightly elevated above the ground, small breezes would appear beneath he feet and carry her father and faster than she could go on her own. 

Arun was surprisingly quick, but for him being so tiny it made sense. Tiny but mighty, they always say, and this kid was a powerhouse. And a fast one too. He'd be a formidable opponent to anyone at Beacon. Isaiah lagged behind the most, but she was joined by Neta. It helped that neither of them spoke to each other, so they wouldn't run out of breath. 

Arun watched Wiley pull ahead even more. She was quick, and he could be just as quick if he wanted to, but he didn't want to leave Isaiah behind. He wasn't sure if she'd take too kindly to him speeding up the time of her clothes to basically carry her and allow her to run faster either. He laughed slightly at the thought, he'd definitely have to ask one day. 

As they reached a small clearing on a cliff, Wiley abruptly stopped and the group pulled to a halt behind her. They could see a fog-covered canyon beyond, and had been just in time to see the tail-end of whatever fight was going on there. The body of the Nevermore from early was falling from the side of a steep cliff and Isaiah could just barely make out a girl in a red hood at the top. 

She breathed out, awestruck, "So that's Ruby Rose..." 

"She's crazy," Neta immediately answered. "How did she even drag that thing up a cliff side!" 

"She must have some really cool and strong teammates, or just some awesome strength! Maybe she's a lion too!" Arun clapped excitedly. 

Isaiah snickered at his antics. "She's not a Faunus, sorry." 

"Aw," He muttered, but he was still smiling. "That's still so amazing though, that she could carry a Nevermore up a cliff." 

Wiley rolled her eyes. It was cool, and a little terrifying, she had to admit (no way would she ever take this Rose kid on in a fight), but they didn't have time to waste. She clapped her hands, her gloves clinking. "If we're done dawdling, we have to keep moving. There's not much time left, and we're still far behind." 

"I agree. There isn't much longer to get to the hills, but the area could still be infested with Grimm," Isaiah noted. She started walking, easily catching up to Wiley. 

Neta huffed and followed them. 'They're probably attracted to your bad attitude,' he thought, glaring pointedly at the back of Wiley's head. It felt so normal to walk in silence, but it was a habit they had become accustomed to. Neta didn't think he could handle this being the team he was on. He liked the silence. But he didn't want to partner with Isaiah after not talking for almost eight and a half years, nor did he really like Arun that much. The kid wasn't bad, he was just way too energetic. 

They continued on, passing through one of the thicker parts of the forest. With Isaiah in the lead, it was easy to find their way. They'd be back to the cliffs in no time. 

As they wandered, Arun began to wonder about the other team. Were they doing alright? Were they back already? What if they went the wrong way? He voiced his concerns to Isaiah. 

"They're a capable group, they'll be fine," She assured him. He nodded in understanding. She looked ahead, then continued, "Since we've taken a rest, it's best to get moving again. Let's go." 

The group started to run again, Wiley still in the lead. Isaiah was keeping a consistent pace, with Arun right next to her and Neta behind. They sprinted down hills, over roots and under vines, through the thick foliage like there was no tomorrow. They were close now, to the finish line. 

A shudder ripped up Arun spine. A chorus of growls ignited around him, and he was aware of the dusty scent of grim. This one was sharper, though, more metallic and-- 

Arun blanched. "Guys." 

They slowed to a halt. 

"I know," Isaiah replied. 

It was the blood. It was the blood Arun was smelling. What had happened to the other group.

"How many are there?" Neta asked, his hand going for one of his Parablades. He drew it from the sheathe and pressed a button on the bottom end of the hilt, extending the weapon to a full-length spear. 

"There are six that I can see," Wiley answered. The four students huddled into a circle, shoulder to shoulder with their weapons drawn. 

"Isaiah? Are there more than six?" Arun asked, narrowing his eyes at a flash of red. There was a loud growl and another streak, making him flick his tail agitatedly. 

Isaiah ducked. A Grimm leapt from the bushes. The group scattered. 

Neta was the first to pin it down, catching it under it's front arm and flipping it almost effortlessly. It yowled, clawing at his spear and trying to kick with it's clawed paws. Neta grit his teeth and pushed harder, feeling a bone crack. 

Something flicked out of the corner of his eye, and a whip cracked against the side of his head. Stars exploded across his vision and he fell to the floor, his grip on his spear loosening enough to let the creature rise. In his blurred vision, with blood running across his forehead, he could barely make out the tip of the appendage that had hit him, grabbing his weapon. 

Well that was just great. Grimm Jaguars with armor across their backs and necks, large clawed paws, and prehensile tails that were tipped with exoskeletons and a club that looked like bird talons.

They needed a name, something like Jaggy McChicken-Fingers, or Tigger. 

There were eight out in the open, that Arun could see. He tossed a Chakram at one Grimm, keeping a hold of his weapon with the chain. Since the group was split up, he could utilize the full range of his attacks. There was less for him to focus on too. 

The Grimm charged him, leaping around his first thrown chakram and catching it with it's tail as Arun tried to jerk on the chain and tug it back. The young lion gasped, instinctively moving to back up. He kept a grip on the chain, using his other chakram as a shield in case an attack came too close. 

The creature pounced, and Arun yanked the chain harshly, pulling it's tail from behind it and knocking it off balance. It raced behind him, just barely letting Arun's weapon go without cutting his nose off. Arun yelped and reeled back, immediately gripping the fresh cut across the bridge of his nose. 

He barely had time to recover and attack again. There was another bark, a new bark, followed by a whoop and a whistle. Two tiny glowing balls burst from the bushes, barreling into the Grimm on the ground. It screeched in pain, as the blurs materialized into blue foxes, biting and clawing at it. Arun stared on in surprise. "What...?" 

Another fox leapt from the shrubs and tackled him, making him yelp and guard with his weapon. The fox panted like a dog, then liked playfully at his face to make him laugh. He tried to push it away, only to fail and laugh harder. "Stop it-" 

"Alley-oop!!" Kazh yelled, tearing the foliage a new one as he burst into the fray on his bike. He dove for the jaguar, the two foxes scattering for him, and dug the back wheel into it's exposed chest and belly. It screamed, then withered and died pitifully, while Kazh rolled up to a stop beside Wiley. "Need some help?"

"No." She immediately grunted in answer, reinforcing her kick with wind power to knock one Grimm off of her. It flew back, slammed into a tree, then fell, scampering away. Kazh's foxes were on it in an instant. Wiley stood, slumped, and huffed, "Okay, yes. Maybe."

Kazh grinned. "The cavalry is here." 

"Cavalry? Really?" She asked incredulously. The other three members were already out fighting, now with an extra four Grimm to join the existing five -at least three had already been killed. Fantastic. Tristan and Lily were busy protecting Neta, while Reg and Isaiah were fending off four between the two. Arun had busted multiple craters in the ground, and was busy zipping around a pair of Grimm to make more. With Kazh's wolves dealing with one and Lily and Tristan occupied with the last three, things didn't seem to be getting any better. 

"How do we handle this?" Wiley asked. Kazh looked around, whistling as he spied Arun in a spot of trouble. He whistled and pointed a hand at the boy, his foxes rushing towards him. Before the Grimm jumping at him made contact, the foxes barreled into it and knocked it aside. Arun scrambled up, grabbing one of his chakrams and throwing it at the creature. A well placed slice sent it's head rolling away into one of the craters nearby. 

"Thanks Kazh!" He yelled, and took off to help Tristan. 

Kazh whistled again, another tail blooming next to the three already on his back. A new fox materialized next to him, shaking it's body as though it were shaking water from it's fur. It sat and trained it's white eyes on Wiley. "We get Neta's spear, and then we get rid of the Grimm. We can draw them in and deal with them in groups." 

"Right. You go help Shorty get the spear, we'll handle the others. Good luck!" Wiley sprinted past him towards Neta, pushing a Grimm away and towards one of Lilac's slashes. She was using her rapier, however her Semblance was surrounding the blade, making it a broadsword. Kazh swiveled his bike towards his parter and took off towards him. 

Kazh barreled towards them, striking a Grimm in the side. Kazh's bike harmlessly bounced off of the Grimm's exoskeleton, but that got him the lift he needed to ride over three more. Reg yelled something rude as Kazh rushed by, making him grin widely. When he was close, he pulled the front wheel of his bike up, performing a wheelie and striking the Grimm holding Neta's spear in the lower back. It yowled as it was severed in half, it's tail falling limp from the weapon. Kazh grabbed it and raced over to Neta, Tristan, and Lalac. 

"Here," he handed the weapon to it's owner. Neta stood and stumbled, but managed to nod in thanks. "I don't know how much I can help--" 

"You said you're an archer, right?" Tristan asked, not turning to look at Neta. He shot a jet of water at a Grimm, then used his semblance- temperature manipulation- to super freeze the water and trap the Grimm half-inside. "Stay back, and use your bow. You're useless if you can't even stand." 

"That is true," Kazh agreed. He looked to The other group, where Reg and Wiley were forced back to back, the former with a large gash in his upper arm, and Wiley crouching low to the ground. A short ways off, Isaiah was pinned under a Grimm, struggling to get it to move, while Arun was preoccupied fighting two at once. He held a halberd in his hands now, split at multiple sections by a chain, and was spinning it to keep them away. He was so fast it seemed he barely touched the weapon. 

"Lilac, use Minnie to get that Grimm off of Isaiah. Tristan, help Arun. Neta, stay here, but I need you to incapacitate as many of these Grimm as you can. Aim for legs, eyes, chests, whatever you can get," Kazh instructed. Tristan added his own two cents, "If you can kill them, that'd be great." 

"Got it. I'll see what I can do," Neta replied. He gathered his weapons, collapsing the spear back to it's bladed form, then tapped the tips of the two together. He pulled them apart, a long wire extending from the tip of one blade to another. When he deemed it long enough, he crushed the hilts together, effectively forming a bow. He drew an arrow, locking it in place on the wire, then drawing, and firing. The arrow practically split the air, whistling as it flew and pierced the chest of one Grimm pouncing Wiley. 

She drew her hands away from her face and whistled, glancing at him. "You actually have a bow!" 

"Told you," He huffed. 

Kazh grinned. "You handle the rest. Tristan! Lilac! Go!" 

"Right!" The two replied. Tristan took off, charging Blowtorch with his semblance an spitting a jet of flames at one of the Grimm fighting Arun. It spun out of midair, it's ghastly roar echoing across the clearing. Flames licked up it's legs and chest, singing the tips of it's clawed tail. It charged at Tristan. 

"Tristan-!" Arun yelled. He reversed the grip on his halberd, collapsing half of it into a chakram and throwing it at the Grimm, severing one of it's legs. 

"Let me douse those flames for you!" Tristan yelled mockingly. Water from Supersoaker slammed into the Grimm and pushed it back, allowing him to freeze it in place. "Arun! Now!" 

"Right!" The lion swung the remaining half of his halberd down, beheading the Grimm. "Lilac, you okay?" 

"Everything's dandy!" She yelled back, thrusting her blade forward. Her semblance forming the blade condensed and shot forward, elongating it into a piercing needle of light. It ran through one Grimm's chest and shoulder. "Minnie!" 

Out of seemingly nowhere, the small Grimm zipped up Lilac's leg, over her back and to her arm and eventually down the tip of her blade to push the Grimm back and off. Minnie zipped through the air and around the other Grimm, and Lilac reformed her broadsword and followed suit, slashing at any Grimm incapacitated by Minnie's mighty blows.

Minnie darted along the ground and charged at Isaiah, bouncing up at the Grimm above her. She pushed at it's chest, sending it toppling backwards into Lilac's waiting sword, where she stabbed it and shoved it to the side, watching it disintegrate. While Minnie went to help Arun, Lilac helped Isaiah up. 

"Are you okay?" She asked. 

Isaiah wiped the dirt off her shoulders and arms, fixing her jacket and pushing her hair aside. She pushed her glasses up her nose with one finger, nodding. "Could be better. Thanks." 

"No problem-" Lilac smile changed to a terrified gasp as one of Neta's arrows flew by and pierced the chest of a Grimm with enough power to knock it back a few feet before it died. Arun hopped over it in his rush to get to Lilac and Isaiah, holding Isaiah's shoulder to stop himself. 

"Hey!" He panted, looking up at his partner. "That Grimm almost had you. Sorry we're late. Y'all good?"

"Y'all?" Isaiah asked. She glanced to Neta, who was busy filling a Grimm's side with arrows, shooting three at a time. 

"Y'all," Tristan repeated as he came over, nudging Minnie's face with the back of his hand. Lilac giggled, holding an arm out for Minnie to hop onto her and trot to her shoulder, wrapping herself around her neck. 

"We're fine, for the most part," She answered. "But it's Reg I'm worried about-" 

"Reg? Is he okay?" Tristan fretted, taking Lilac upper arm in one hand. Isaiah slapped his shoulder and pointed, to where Reg was kneeling between Kazh and Wiley, clutching his sword- now a small shotgun- in one hand and his bleeding arm in the other. Tristan wasn't sure a shoulder wound could bleed that much, unless there was more than one- Reg's whole sleeve was dyed red. Wiley and Kazh were expertly covering him, circling back to back. Kazh would knock Grimm towards Neta with calculated swings of his bike, allowing Nero to incapacitate or kill them, and Reg to shoot whichever ones weren't dead. Wiley's claws had morphed into a pair of long blades on the back of her hands, which she was using to slash and stab at the Grimm that were foolish enough to pounce her. 

One charged at her feet, but she was prepared, stomping her foot against the ground. She gave the puff of wind more power, knocking the Grimm up into the air far enough for her to rush at it and stab both claws into it's belly. She grunted, drawing her arms outward in an upside down V, shredding the Grimm. It fell and squirmed as it died, Wiley spitting on it's shoulder. "Rest in f-" Neta's arrow whistled through the air, killing the last Grimm. It roared, drowning out her word. "-ng pieces." 

Tristan was first to run over, patting Kazh's back twice on the way to Reg. He kneeled down next to the boy, fretting over his shoulder. "Are you okay? Do you need first aid? I think I have a kit with me--" 

"I'm fine, Tris," Reg sighed, waving his hand lightly. The rest of the group came over, surrounding them. Reg looked around at them and stood, stating, "If the Grimm are dead, we should keep moving." 

"Right," Arun agreed. "And let's stay together this time, right?" 

"Yeah," Lilac chuckled nervously, "Sorry guys..." 

"It was good while it lasted," Kazh said, smiling. "I see the cliffs over there, about a mile away- I think Ozpind's waving at us." 

The group laughed, and after getting Reg lightly patched up, started stumbling towards the cliffs. Tristan's first aid kit did come in handy, as well as his and Wiley's (of all people) auras. It wasn't long, until they were fast asleep on a helicarrier back to Beacon.

* * *

Back at Beacon, the new partners were immediately gathered in the ballroom, where they were given tape and pens. It felt so elementary school, to be taping their names on their relics and turning them in to large buckets the teachers were collecting, but the students were happy to be returning to their beds. Kazh, surprisingly, was the first asleep. He sustained very few serious injuries, but was the first to take a nap. Tristan, Neta, Arun, Reg, and Isaiah went to see the one of the nurses, Peach or Priest or something? For treatments for their injuries. There were a couple of other groups of students heading to see more nurses, while some sat down to talk with friends and recap their adventures, and others like Kazh simply passed out on the spot. Wiley laid down, but she didn't sleep. She was still excited, since she'd be getting her team soon. The announcement had come shortly after they'd made it to the ballroom, that in three hours all new students were to gather in the auditorium. Wiley turned to her side, closing her eyes. If she couldn't nap, she could try to rest for a bit. Three hours passed quickly. Soon the students were waking each other up and filing out of the room. The murmurs of excitement thrummed through the air like an energy, everybody buzzing with anxiousness and excitement. Wiley spotted Lilac with the group who'd gone to see the nurse, sans Minnie, surprisingly, and Kazh with a group of four guys and two girls, all of them laughing and joking. She shook her head, smiling to herself, and slid through the crowd easily, arriving at the auditorium with the first few people. 

* * *

Once again, ceremonies were long and boring, but at least they were able to sit. The first five rows were kept open, and the last five were filled with people who didn't have teams yet. As teams were formed, they filed to the front and filled the empty rows while the back ones slowly emptied. Names were called, teams were formed. CDNL, ORNJ (Ozpind mentioned that years ago there had been another team under the same name), JNPR, RWBY, and many many more. Finally, it was Wiley's turn- her and her team. "Kazh Yule. Reginald Alexander Aegeon III. Wiley O'Syrah. Neta Savage," Ozpind called out. A small murmur passed through the room at Neta's surname, but the three save Neta seemed to ignore it. They exited their seats and moved to the front, passing nudges and dumb looks at each other. The four stumbled onto the stage, Wiley giggling while Kazh pushed her, but they quickly shaped up and stood shoulder to shoulder in front of Ozpind. "The four of you chose the Black King piece. You will now be working together as Team KRWN." KRWN. The name rung in their heads. A crown for a king, was there a better name for the piece they picked? "And you will be led by..." Reg got ready to step up and claim his place as leader. He grinned to himself. Today was his day- "Kazh Yule." "Wha-" the word barely left his mouth he was so flabbergasted. Some of the students actually erupted in _cheers_ for him, making Reg splutter harder. What did Kazh have that he didn't? Charm? Sophistication? Responsibility? Sure he had an extra three inches in height that Reg didn't, but come on! He barely heard said new leader whisper, "Really? Sweet," while he waved at the students. It was ludicrous. As they ushered themselves off stage, Reg had to hold in a confused outburst. He'd figure it all out later. He had to swallow his pride and be polite to Kazh for the moment. "Tristan Ae--" the mic cut out for a second, but was quickly brought back by a loud screech. Ozpind coughed, regaining his composure. "Excuse me. Lilac Tegeen. Isaiah Isaac. Arun Mahes. The four of you chose the Black Rook pieces." The four stepped up to the stage, standing in a straight line. Isaiah was much taller than Neta remembered her. He passed her a small wave, which she returned with a stiff nod. He refocused on Ozpin as he continued speaking. "You will now be working together as Team TIAL, led by..." He paused. Glynda was right, his name was long. "Tristan Aegeon-Teale." Kazh cracked his eyes open. Wiley stifled a surprised snort. Neta's eyes bulged. "Did he say Aegeon?" Neta asked. Reg sighed and nodded. Wiley gaped. "You mean he's your _brother_?!"


	6. Team Bonding

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Now that initiation's done, let's hang out with the students in school a bit more eheh. And also introduce our main baddies. 
> 
> I'm not really too sure how combat school works, but since most of the kids are college age, I kind of formatted it like that, with a bit of highschool mixed in- So there are at most five or six classes, and some meet on different days than others. So like for example, Professor Priest's chemistry class meets on Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, but not any other day. I also have it so the classes chosen are mostly geared towards hunting, but others are more for personal studies and other electives/interests. They all tie into hunting somehow. However, there are some manditory classes, like their combat class with Glynda. 
> 
> In addition, Pre-Com is mentioned a lot, and it basically just means Pre-Combat school. Once again, not knowing how school works since they don't really go into it, I set it up with elementary school and middle school being like normal classes and such, with some middle schools being geared towards hunting (those being J-Com or Junior Combat School). Then high school, or Pre-Com, is schools like Signal and other schools that are high school leveled and prepare students for college-level hunting schools like Beacon, Atlas, and the others.
> 
> Anyway, enough blabbing. I hope you enjoy this chapter~

Gavin Sweeney, a local cop stationed in Vale's Police Department, chugged down the last of his coffee, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. He was supposed to go home early tonight and catch up on some TV, but a last minute arrest had him stuck at the station for another extra hour. He sighed deeply, exiting the break room and heading back to the holding cell, where two guys were guarding the outside, and another four waited within. Gavin waved them aside and one opened the door for him, allowing him to step into the small, dull room. There was a large window on the same wall as the door, dark grey walls and light flooring, with a single light overhead that flickered every so often- they really needed to change that. Just below the light was a white table, and slightly towards the back of the room, was a plastic-and-aluminum chair to match, with their current troublemaker sitting in it.

She had come in maybe four or five times too many in just the last few weeks, and yet somehow never ended up facing jail time- it was like she only visited the police station. Most cops remembered bringing her in, but then all of them had come in the day after she escaped with bruised faces and broken bones. Gavin had a sneaking suspicion that she probably drugged them or just beat them into amnesia, but all the security cameras mysteriously died at the time and barely anyone saw her around town. 

She was slouching, her umber yellow hair hanging over her face, legs crossed in a figure four. She was wearing tight leather pants and a matching jacket, a cheetah- print shirt under. Her combat boots had a slight heel to them and the same print as her shirt on the toes. Gavin looked between her and the one female cop in the room, one of his best friends, and she mouthed "so basic," at him. He snorted. 

"Alright, let's get to it. Giselle Rodanthe Tantalo, brought in _again_ for riot charges, as well as assault, property damage, and..." Gavin wracked his brain for the last thing she was brought in for. 

The cop next to him nudged his shoulder and whispered, "Public indecency." 

"Public Indecency." Gavin repeated. "Is there anything you'd like to say, Miss Tantalo?" 

"I don't understand why you're bringing me in, I clearly didn't do anything." Miss Tantalo pulled her arms out from behind her and shrugged, before replacing them in the handcuffs behind her back. 

Gavin rolled his eyes. "Of course. That's why you're here after all." 

"Here to plead guilty! That man swung first an I acted in self defense!" Giselle defended herself. 

Gavin raised both his eyebrows and peered at her. "You defended yourself by starting a bar brawl?" 

"Why do you keep saying it was me? I keep telling you he took the first swing-" a lively ringtone went off, buzzing against the chair from Giselle's back pocket. She held up her finger, then reached back and took out the phone, setting it on her shoulder. She secured it with her cheek and returned her hand to the cuffs. "Hello? T, is that you? Good, I thought it was 'Gar. You know where I am, right? Yeah, the one downtown, by From Dust Till Dawn." She suddenly scoffed, shaking her hair out of her face as much as she could without dropping the phone. "Shut up! You know me, it's in my nature. Anyway, bring my girls by- yeah yeah, you know. Come on babe, you know you love to ride her. Just get over here, and remember my helmet." 

Giselle leisurely hung up the phone, returning it to her pocket. She placed her hands down on the table and sent a piercing gaze at Gavin- all dark pink eyes and full, thick lashes. It was then he realized that she wasn't cuffed anymore; she probably wasn't ever cuffed in the first place. 

"Listen, sweetheart, you seem like a nice man, but I'm sorry to say I can't stay any longer." The woman reached across the table and flicked the badge on his uniform, making Gavin instinctively rear back. "It was nice to hang out with you guys, but it's time for me to go."

The cop behind her, by the window, was the first to draw his gun. Giselle stood and flipped the table, and it landed heavily against Gavin and the two cops behind him. The one female cop moved first, reaching for her taser so she could easily restrain Giselle R. Tantalo. 

Giselle grabbed the cuffs from the back of the chair and swung them once, snapping one side hard against the cop's wrist. She hissed in pain, going for her taser again, only to get a second slap to her wrist. She caught the third, allowing Giselle to pull her forward slightly to get in closer, but wasn't expecting the woman to rush her. The cop blinked and suddenly Giselle was behind her, chain wrapping around her upper body and bringing her arm with it. It was secured behind her and to her belt, before she was kicked in the back of the knee and pushed over. She started struggling on the floor, grunting and cursing, until Giselle kicked her in the face and knocked her unconcious. 

Giselle paid her no further attention and advanced on the next man, grabbing the chair on her way past. She used the bottom of the chair to stop and deflect a few bullets, rolling her eyes, _why is he shooting in such a cramped space?_ and rushed him, slamming the chair hard into his shoulder. She followed with a hit to the opposite temple, then kneed him in the gut to bring him down. When he was doubled over, Giselle slammed the chair over his back, shattering it and knocking him out cold. The plastic backing flew off and the chair crumpled under her strength, leaving her with two jagged, crumpled chair legs, one with a screw still in and the plastic cap holding on for dear life. 

Another cop came around from the front of the table, while the Gavin and the last one were still trying to regain their bearings. She turned on him, sighing exaggeratedly in an 'oh thank goodness it's only you!' manner. He looked at the pair of chair legs in her hands, then cocked a grin at her. "What are you gonna do?" 

"I'm gonna get a drink with my boy after this," Giselle replied, and threw one of the chair legs at him. She used her foot to pick up a second chair leg from the floor, rushing forward with the pair of sticks behind her. She went for a swing to his neck, which he blocked easily, and followed up with a punch to her jaw, then her neck. Giselle coughed, but retaliated by blocking his next strike to her head and kicking him hard in the shin. She used one of the chair legs to jab him in the stomach, then again in the chest, and while he was busy gasping for breath, she swung both legs hard across his face, sending him crashing into one of the table legs and to the floor. The strength of the hit tore her weapons from her hands, leaving her nothing to fight with, except the table and her fists. Sure she could punch a guy's lights out but there was no way she could fight with a table. 

Giselle was aware of one man, Gavin, behind her, trying to sneak up on her and cuff her quickly. Instead of going for him, she gripped the table leg and turned it long ways, locked eyes with the kid heading for the door, and rushed him with the full table. It stood taller than he did, and she jammed him into the corner, blocking the door expertly as he squealed in fear. The door rattled as the two cops outside tried to get in, screaming for reinforcements. Gavin watched in mixed horror and admiration, then shook his head. He had to stop her. 

"Come on Gavin. Get home and watch you some CSI: Atlas!" He said to himself, and ran at Giselle. He poised one arm for a punch, the other going for one of his ASPs. 

It all seemed to move in slow motion. Gavin extended his hand, fist clenching. It seemed he was a millimeter away from her nose, when one of those dangerous, slit-pupiled pink eyes closed in a wink, a smirk gracing her thin lips. 

Giselle shrugged out of the way. Gavin felt his hand impact the table, then push through it until his fist slammed into the other man's face. He was caught between being surprised he'd punched through a table- adrenaline can do that- and enraged that Giselle R. Tantalo was standing off to the side, laughing at him. 

Gavin struggled to pull his arm out of the table, cursing when he cut his hand and arm pulling away. He blinked as he looked up, suddenly gasping when Giselle appeared behind him, her arm around his throat, holding his taser at his cheek. "Don't move, sweetheart, or your eye is going next. I'm gonna tell you what you're gonna do, and you're gonna do it, 'kay?" 

Gavin gulped. He glanced around at his friends and coworkers, fallen and passed out. He stared at the table, his bloodied hand, and down at the taser. Giselle shook him again, whispering, "Okay~?" 

"Y-yes," Gavin stuttered out. Giselle released him and pushed him forward, where he caught himself against the table. 

"Move the table, open the door," She commanded, that angelic smile still on her face. She batted her lashes at him, "Don't want to keep a lady waiting, right~?" 

"Yes ma'am," Gavin swallowed, pushing the table aside. He tried to help the boy slumped in the corner to his feet, when hard metal slammed into his temple. 

The door ricocheted off of Gavin's head, bouncing back towards Giselle who muttered, "Oopsie~" as she caught it and let him fall. "You shouldn't have taken so long, I'm prone to impatience!" 

The cop collapsed with a groan, and Giselle opened the door again, shoving him and the boy farther into the wall. She shimmied her way out, glancing up and down the hallway. The two men must have ran for help. When she deemed it clear, she spotted the nearest camera, smiled, waved, and then disappeared quite literally out of view. Teleportation was no trouble for Giselle R. Tantalo, how else would she have been able to escape arrest so many times?  


* * *

Ungar Hallbjorn was getting ready to dial Giselle's number _again_ , when the door to the station slid open. Giselle waltzed out, dragging one woman behind her by her head, that angelic smile still gracing the troublemaker's face. She gripped the woman's hair harshly, pulling her head back only to shove it back into the pavement, then left her passed out on the floor as she strode up to her fellow mobster.

Ungar tossed her the belt and case he'd brought, Giselle's "girls," Leto and Oreithyia. She purred contently, strapping the belt around her waist. "There. Just like they never left." 

"You're late, you know," Ungar said, his deep voice rumbling in a ticked off manner. He was leaning against her bike, arms crossed, the white light of the station brightening his skin and making him look pasty, not nearly as brown as normal. 

"I'm not late, you're just early!" Giselle wailed playfully. 

"Don't you dare mess around, Tantalo. This is the ninth time in the last month. You need to stop getting arrested," Ungar growled impatiently, stepping away from the bike and up to her. She crossed her arms and tapped her foot, still playful in her pouting. She loved ticking Ungar off to no end; it was like her hobby. 

"But 'Gar, it's _not_ my fault." She batted her lashes, jutting her bottom lip out even more. 

Ungar gave her a dark look. "Not your fault that a bar brawl broke out and six guys ended up in the hospital. Right. Just like all the last times." 

"But those were _different,_ " Giselle defended, placing her hands on her hips. "Because those times, someone was asking for it." 

"You're asking for a walk back if you keep this up!" Ungar retorted, stepping back and leaning against her bike again. 

Giselle straightened and puffed out her chest, glaring down her nose at the shorter man. "You wouldn't just leave me and take off with my own bike..." 

"I would," Ungar cracked a smirk. "And I'm not even kidding." 

"Well fine!" Giselle stomped, but it was still playful on her part. If she was pissed her stomp would have been much more forceful. And against Ungar's face. In the form of a punch. 

Giselle took her helmet from the back of her motorcycle, slipping it under her arm as she walked. Ungar watched her start to walk down the block and called, "Hey! Where are you going!" 

"If you're going to make me walk back, I'm just going to go steal a new bike! See you at the den!" Giselle called back.  


* * *

The first night in the dorms was spent figuring out beds and getting to know semblances and such. First, team KRWN changed into pajamas. Neta had changed first, throwing on light pants and a sweater, followed by Kazh who wore shorts and a T-shirt. Their leader still wore a beanie, even when sleeping. Neta thought he was _dedicated_ to his fashion, but it was Wiley who voiced the comment. When Wiley left to change, the team found out that she had at least twenty pairs of the same pants, and Reg was content in just wearing a grey-and-red sweat suit.

Next order of business was to move the beds, forcing each one into a corner. Reg got the desk and the corner close to the door, while Wiley stole the closet and pushed her bed to the corner on the opposite side of the room. She moved Neta across from her against the same wall as the window, and Kazh took the last corner. They moved the other shelf they had to the end of Neta's bed and about a foot away, and gave Kazh the bedside table. While Wiley was busy arguing with Reg over how much closet space they had to share, Kazh was busy drilling a pair of hooks into the wall above his bed. He immediately placed his bike there when he was done, clapping his hands and smiling to himself. 

"What are you up to?" Neta asked, putting down his book. 

"I'm done hanging up Kona." Kazh turned his grin on Neta. 

Neta raised an eyebrow. "You named your bike." 

"Well of course I named her. Didn't you name your weapons?" Kazh asked, stepping off of his bed. 

Neta shrugged, sitting up on his mattress. "No, not really. Parablades isn't really a name." 

"How about the rest of you?" Kazh looked around at his team- Reg was now sitting at the desk with a steaming mug of something, probably tea, he seemed like a tea guy, in his hands. Wiley was still at the closet, trying to shove her bag into the bottom without moving the other bags. 

"Yup," she grunted, giving one final push before slamming the door closed. She slumped against it, holding it closed incase it popped open again. "Her name is Desert Storm." 

"How elegant, coming from you." Reg remarked over the lip of his mug. Wiley barked weakly, not finding the motivation to fight him. 

"Well what about you, Shorty?" She asked. "Something like Saw Axe or Short Stick?" 

Reg opened one of his eyes in a glare, then shut it again. He put his mug down and stated, "Motio Glaive is a highly sophisticated name, better than anything you could come up with. And I even thought of it in my sleep." 

"Nerd," Wiley replied. She moved to the center of the room and sat down, asking, "So what now?" 

Kazh also came over, motioning for Neta and Reg to do the same. Reg reluctantly followed, leaving his cup on the desk. 

"Why don't we do a little team bonding?" Kazh asked, shrugging. He looked around, noting the order: Himself, Neta, Wiley, then Reg. They all gave mixed answers, either nods or sighs- Of course Reg would be sighing. 

"We'll just go around in a circle and rattle off our answers to the questions. Like the first one, favorite color." Kazh grinned. 

"Grey," Neta answered. 

"My hair," Wiley snickered. 

"Purple." Reg nodded. 

"Heeyyyy, getting that synchronizing vibe already. Nice, nice." Kazh nodded. "My favorite color is... Hm... Blue, we'll go with that." 

"Why are we doing this?" Reg asked. 

"Like I said, it's team bonding. Favorite animal?" 

"Dogs," Wiley and Neta both answered immediately. They glanced at each other, then Wiley said, "And coyotes. I really like coyotes." 

"See? That's one thing in common already. How about you, Reggie?" Kazh nodded.

"... Starfish." 

"That can't be your legit answer, come on," Neta pestered, waving his hand. 

"Yes it can, I can like starfish!" Reg quipped, his voice rising. 

"Simmer down, guys. I like bunnies," Kazh stated, smiling a small, fond smile. 

Wiley raised her eyebrow, questioning, "You call them bunnies." 

"They're so cute and fluffy and my favorite animal. What can I say?" Kazh smiled. "Second favorite is hippopotami, third is elephants. I like big friendly animals." 

"Rabbits aren't big and friendly though," Neta said. "What kind of rabbit have you met?" 

"The big friendly kind," Kazh replied with a grin. 

"I thought you said favorite," Reg demanded. "You said three." 

"Well Wiley did it, so I can too," Kazh defended himself.

"Then so can I. My second favorite animals are canines, excluding coyotes and foxes," Reg stated, staring pointedly at Wiley. 

She shrugged. "Your loss, coyotes are great. We can eat pretty much anything an hop buildings and fences taller than us." 

"Speaking of eating, favorite food?" Their leader asked. Reg went first this time. 

"There is no nobler food than lasagna. A fresh baked lasagna is only suited to praise, no matter what ingredients are use! The finest crafted lasagna can be described with elegance, poetry, awards- A perfect dish such as that deserves the utmost respect and--" 

"Did you just describe lasagna as 'noble.'" 

"Yes, Wiley, I did." 

"You are such a dork," She reached over and pushed his head lightly. "How about you, Kazh?" 

"Burgers, all kinds, hands down. I love them," He said. "You?" 

"I like... I dunno, I like everything. I don't have a favorite food," Wiley said, mulling it over in her head. "But I can tell you that I dislike mushrooms even though I'll eat them, and am allergic to cinnamon." 

"Dude, that's horrible. You've never had snicker doodles then," Neta pointed out. 

Wiley nodded, looking away. In a tearful voice she said, "I've heard how good they are though... I want one...!" 

"I feel bad saying that snicker doodles are my favorite food now..." Neta muttered, patting her shoulder. "I don't like you much but I can sympathize a little with you." 

"Nero, those are fighting words! We don't say those kinds of things," Kazh waved a finger in Neta's face, like a preschool or elementary school teacher. "What do you say when you've offended somebody?" 

Neta rolled his eyes, sighing exasperatedly. "Kazh, please. I'm not--" 

"What do we say?" 

"Sorry. Jeez." 

"Better." Kazh pulled his hand away. "On the subject of fighting, I'd like to get to know your semblances, since I haven't really seen them in action. As a team, I think it's best to get to know each other and our fighting styles to better work together." 

"I see why you're doing this bonding thing now. You're a good leader, Kazh," Neta complimented. 

Kazh feigned embarrassment and swatted a hand at Neta. "Oh stop it you, you'll make me blush." 

Neta held his hands up in surrender. He adjusted how he was sitting, leaning forward on his knees. "So what's your semblance?" 

"I was planning on starting anyway." Could that grin just go on indefinitely? "It's... Well, I call it Nine-Tailed Fox, since I literally get nine tails and summon foxes. It's kind of a hyper-extension of my Aura, really, without causing injury. At least, until I get nine tails, at that point I can barely even move. Four is pushing it," Kazh explained to the group.

"How come you can't move?" Wiley asked, inclining her head. 

He shrugged, answering, "Imagine having six things to do and only two hands to do them. You at some point have to put some things down to do others. I have to divide my attention between nine things, ten including me, leaving me to just choose to not do others. Movement is usually first to go. Sometimes I stop breathing." 

"Woah, okay, let's not do that," Wiley rushed to say, waving her hands. 

Reg rolled his eyes, stating, "I know first aid and CPR, we're covered if you pass out." 

"What about your semblance, Shorty?" Wiley asked. She seemed to be in a good mood, holding back her harsh criticisms and cynical remarks. Neta was thankful for that, maybe if she kept this up he could learn to work with her. 

Reg smirked, his voice echoing around the room without him moving his mouth. "Close your eyes." 

Kazh opened his eyes, then closed them again. The smell of the forest filled the room, fresh and earthy, then Kazh felt something tap his shoulders, and heard Neta squeak. Neta opened his eyes and regained his bearings shaking his head as he looked up. He blinked a few times, then quickly rubbed his eyes. There were suddenly two Reginald's?! The two looked around the room when everyone opened their eyes, smirking at how shocked everyone was. 

In his medium, chirpy voice, the two Reg's said, "My semblance is sensory illusions. I can make someone see things, but also smell, taste, and hear. It's really easy to keep up, but I don't have control over who sees or who doesn't- It's only one or two people I really focus on." 

In a flash, the second Reg was gone, and he let out a meditative exhale. "I can do physical illusions too, but only for a short time. From what I've heard, that was more of my birth mother's Semblance." 

"You're adopted?" Neta asked. 

Reg shrugged, "Yeah. That's why Tristan and I don't look alike, even though we're brothers." 

"That explains so much," Wiley quipped. "How many of you are there?" 

"Six." Reg replied simply. "Two older brothers, Tristan and I, but I'm older, and a pair of younger siblings who are twins." 

"That's a lot," Kazh whistled. "But that sounds like a story for another day." 

Reg smiled, for once, and stated, "Yes. Who else hasn't bragged about their semblance?" He asked, indicating Wiley. 

Wiley puffed her chest out, beaming confidently. " _I_ have the most accessible, coolest semblance ever. I have the ability to manipulate wind any way I want to. I can even run faster and make hard platforms if I want." 

"Ey, I remember that. But they have time limits, right? Which was why you fell during initiation," Kazh mumbled, tapping his chin with his finger. 

Wiley hushed him quickly. "Don't remind me. It was your fault for not giving me a ride." 

"So how does it work?" Neta asked, genuinely curious. 

"It's so cool," Wiley gushed, waving her hands as she spoke. "I build power by moving around, and then when I hit I can release it in small bursts-" she punched forward at Kazh without hitting, grinning, "BAM! I can reinforce my hits and make them more powerful!" 

Kazh immediately grabbed his hat, holding in a twitch of his ears as the cold gust of wind hit him and almost nocked him over. He shuddered, chattering at the sudden cold. "Th-th-that's really c-cool, Wiley. L-literal-ly." 

"I know, right! And the best part is, my Semblance is everywhere, whenever I need it. My only limitation is that I have to keep building it, and I have less control outside on windy days," Wiley finished, putting her hands on her hips. "But it's cool anyway, and nothing can stop me!" 

"C-can't wait to see more of it in action," Kazh said, now tucked into his sweater, legs and all. He turned to Neta. "How about yours, Greenie? I barely saw you use it." 

"Oh." Nero shrugged, tensing. "It's... A little bit weird." 

"It can't be that strange, really," Reg stated with a roll of his eyes. 

Neta shook his head, explaining, "It's complicated, but my semblance has a duo use. I control electro-impulses, I guess, in a really broad sense of the word. With Pinpoint- and don't ask me how this works, I have no idea myself- I'm able to amplify a person's semblance and make it stronger within a specific area." 

"Hm... So then in a sense, you could make any of our semblances stronger... How about time, can you make them last longer?" Kazh asked, looking up at Nero. 

"Extending durations? I haven't tried it yet- Maybe it would work with some of Reg's illusions," Neta answered. 

Reg's eyes brightened, and he remarked, "Maybe you can use it to increase how many people see them." 

"Maybe. So what about the other part?" Kazh nodded at Neta. 

Neta shrugged, leaning back on his hands while saying, "Suppressions's harder. With it, I can completely negate someone's semblance. And this isn't a can't-use-it-one-time kind of suppression, this is the, 'Until a certain amount of time has passed, your Semblance is useless and you can't even activate a weak version' kind of suppression. I get you, and your semblance is gone for up to a day." 

"That's so OP," Wiley said, one of her few grins of the night showing. Neta shrugged. 

"It's harder to use than it sounds. For Suppression to work, I have to have one-hundred percent focus, meaning I can't really move- and since I'm not that good I usually end up just not using it. The other thing is that someone has to be using their semblance at the exact moment I suppress it. It's a really big gamble of luck. Some cases are easy, like for Wiley and Kazh, since once you use their semblances it's always on, I could get you at any time. But like with Reg, who uses his semblance when he needs to and turns it off when he doesn't, it'd have to catch him at the exact moment he creates an illusion." 

Kazh put a hand on his chin. "That could come in handy for fighting... Pinpoint is gonna be our saving grace. Well, since you've got us, you'll probably be able to use Suppression more easily. We'll keep you out of trouble." 

"You got it. Just don't get me, alright?" Wiley said, lightly pushing his shoulder. 

Neta snorted, "Right, yeah. I'll try." 

They were up talking for another hour or two, before finally retiring for the night. Neta cursed whatever higher power made him a light sleeper, and whatever higher power made Wiley and Kazh snore.  


* * *

Team TIAL's evening had been vastly different from KRWN's. The four retired to their dorm, Isaiah had unpacked her bags while Arun and Tristan moved some furniture around, and Lilac had unloaded all of her stuff to take care of Minnie with, as well as a small window garden filled with cacti and succulents. After that, she left to take a shower and came back to the team passed out. 

The morning was much more hectic, as Tristan rushed to get out of bed, then tried to get Arun up. Isaiah had already been down to the cafeteria and was back with their breakfast, and was just waiting for the amusement that was Tristan getting out of bed. 

He startled when his alarm went off, rolling out of bed and onto the floor with a yelp. When he realized where he was, he rushed to untangle his hair and get to Arun's bedside. 

"Dude! Dude, wake up!" Tristan commanded, lightly tapping the young lion's face. Arun murmured something, scratching his belly, and rolled over. "Arun!" 

"Pop, no, it's a weekend. Lemme sleep..." Arun groaned, his tail flicking out and slapping Tristan hard across the face. The blonde yelped and jumped back, stumbling over his own bag and flopping against his bed. Lilac looked up from brushing Minnie, clasping her hands over her mouth to keep from full-blown laughter. 

Arun jumped up, kneeling on his bed. His hair was disheveled and messy, as was his beater and shorts, but he still managed to look alert and awake. "Tristan- S-sir! I'm sorry, are you okay?!" 

"Sir?" Tristan muttered, sitting up. "You don't have to call me sir. You're up and that's what's important." 

Isaiah sent a small smile over to the two boys. "You're lucky we all start classes at nine. We get to sleep in." 

"That's right!" Arun chirped. Lilac pushed Minnie off her lap and turned to her garden. 

"I don't know if we have all of our classes together though? I think we have one or two, but some others are geared more towards individual study, and we may have separate classes then." 

She was already fully dressed in her uniform, as was Isaiah, except for her blazer. Minnie moved to sit on the desk, nibbling at a muffin that Isaiah was feeding her. Lilac smiled at her garden, and started watering the succulents, giving a little water to the cacti to suck up. Tristan moved to sit cross-legged and face his team, as did Arun. 

His team. That made him proud. 

"What time is it now?" Tristan asked. 

Isaiah glanced at the clock on the desk. "Seven fifty-seven." 

"That gives us about an hour. Long enough for me to get a shower in. Does anybody have a hair dryer?" Tristan asked, standing. He picked up his bag, plopped it on the bed and started rummaging through it for his clothes.

"I do!" Arun also hopped up, going for the closet. "I'll lend it to you." 

"Great, thanks. If I could use it for the semester that would be great too." Tristan laughed. 

Arun shared a chuckle. "Saves us all some money, but you'll be buying if this one breaks." 

"Got it. I'll be back in twenty minutes." With that, Tristan left. 

He returned in fifteen, to Arun fully dressed but with a ribbon tied around his neck and also no blazer, Isaiah wearing (presumably Arjan's) tie, and a new plate of food on the desk. Lilac was still by her window, but she had a plate with a half-eaten muffin and a banana peel next to her, as well as Minnie on her shoulder. 

"Who's my good little succulents? Who are? You are! That's right, my darlings, you just keep on growing! Keep it up!" 

"How long has she been doing that?" Tristan asked Isaiah. She noted that he wore his uniform, but with a brown long sleeved sweater instead of the blazer and blue sweater vest, and his pants tucked into his combat boots.

"A while," She responded. Tristan nodded, eyeing the spearwoman. Minnie eyed him back- she had her own red ribbon on.

"Lil, what are you up to?" Arun asked, bounding over. She immediately looked up at him and yelped, "Don't call me Lil!" 

"Ack- Sorry. What are you up to, Lilac?" He tried again. 

"Oh, this? It's my window garden!" She beamed. "Did you know that talking to plants helps them grow? I make sure to talk to them every day so they keep growing." 

"Oh, that's really cool!" Arun kneeled at the foot of her bed and rested his jaw on the windowsill. "Hey, little fellas. Just keep on growing, you look great." 

"Why do you talk to them? Just out of curiosity," Isaiah asked. Tristan nodded, staring over at Lily while he brushed out his long hair. Lilac turned a smile on her other team members. 

"It's kind of a habit, I suppose? I grew up in an orphanage, and one of the the woman who took care of the kids always talked to the plants in her garden. I guess I just picked if up from her." 

"So she was like your mom, huh?" Arun asked. 

Lilac nodded. "Yup. Her and the other kids are the only family I've ever know. I want to become a huntress so I can protect them from the Grimm in the area."

"That's so kind of you," Tristan commented as he plugged in the hair dryer. The whirring of the fans filled the room for at least ten minutes, and comfortable silence fell over the room until he started brushing out his now-tangled hair. 

After wrestling his blonde Rapunzel-locks into submission, he worked quickly to braid his hair, tying it with a teal-colored hair tie. He threw his braid over his shoulder and looked to the clock on the table. "It's almost nine, we should head to class." 

"Right!" Arun hopped up from his seat, scratching Minnie on his way to the door. Lilac said one more sweet goodbye to her plants and pulled on her knee socks, tapping her shoes afterwards. She grabbed a bag from the door, and ushered Minnie inside before waking out to the hallway with Tristan. The two waited as Isaiah gathered her blazer, adjusted her tie and collar, and threw it on, also pulling on her shoes. 

Tristan whistled, staring up at her when she got outside. "Three inch heels and I feel shorter than I already am." 

"Five-six isn't that short, I'm only five-eight." Isaiah stated, exiting the room. Arun closed and locked the door behind the group, pulling a map and schedule out from one of his pockets. 

"But when you wear heels that make you five-eleven..." Lilac started, staring down at Isaiah's shoes. Her boots were black, covered in lace and steel buckles, like something a stylized punk-rock pirate would wear on Halloween. 

"Woah!" A very familiar voice yelled. Team TIAL's heads snapped up, spying team KRWN coming towards them. All were in varying forms of their uniforms, Reg being the only one wearing it perfectly. How the heck he managed to tie his tie though... The knot was too fancy for even Tristan to figure out. 

Kazh wore a blue hoodie under his blazer, and his hat like always. Neta had his blazer open and wore his tie loose around his neck, his hair pulled back by a thin black hairband, and Wiley wore her normal pants under the skirt, a brown sweater over her shirt that she'd rolled up the sleeves of, and sandals of all things? Wasn't there a uniform policy for a reason? Her weapons hung from a small strand of satin rat tail at her hip, violating probably all of the school rules set in place about uniforms. 

"Isaiah!" Kazh exclaimed, looking her up and down. "Did you hit your growth spurt last night? You're suddenly towering over me!" 

"Only by two inches," Isaiah murmured in response. Kazh nodded as though in understanding, and turned to the rest of her team. He asked, "Off to classes?" 

"Yup." Arun chirped. "I'm off to a chemistry class with Professor Priest, I think she was one of the nurses yesterday." 

"Hey, no way. I'm going that way too," Wiley said, motioning for him to give her his schedule. "Looks like we've got Combat Practice with all of us right after. Let's stick together." 

"Wiley? Being nice?" Reg snarked, crossing his arms. "I must be dreaming." 

She stuck her tongue out. "Quiet, Sour Patch, you shouldn't be saying anything. What else do we have?" 

Neta glanced over Arun's should. "I've got Historical Literature with you after lunch. I think Tristan and Reg are also in that class." 

"I am as well, but at a different time," Isaiah commented. "Now, actually. Lilac, you mentioned Botany on the south side of the school? I think we're going the same way." 

Kazh huffed, crossing his arms. "I don't have any classes with anyone next- I've got a leadership lab thing in the library and Faunus History after lunch." 

"Same," Wiley said, holding up a hand. "I'll go with you to History. Arjan and I better get going, but we'll see you next class. Later guys~" 

She and Arun started walking away, followed by Tristan and Reg. Kazh went off on his own, bidding the others a good day. Neta looked between Tristan and Reg who were waiting for him, then to Isaiah. "Hey, uh, Isaiah?" 

"Neta," She nodded at him curtly. "Have a good day." 

"Yeah. Hey, we have the same class, right? Let's trade notes later," Neta offered stiffly. 

Isaiah smiled, nodding. "Sure. If there's anything you've missed, I'll tell you." 

"Right. Thanks." They nodded at each other again, Neta waving at Lilac, and the groups went their separate ways. 

* * *

The class was cluttered for a chemistry lab. It was a long white room on the ground floor, with a line of windows on one wall, a long desk at the front of the room, a projector and screen behind that. Ten tables were formed in rows before the desk, two rows of five each, with sinks lining the back wall and shelves on the wall of the door. There weren't many students in addition to Wiley and Arun, maybe twenty-one or twenty-two in total.

Also the teacher was late. 

Everyone had already sat down in pairs (and one awkward trio) when she threw the door open. She was a short and somewhat chubby woman, with short pink-ish blonde hair and bright orange-cream eyes. Her skin was pale, her face covered in light makeup. She wore simple dangling earrings and a white blouse with yellow pants, thin brown gloves, with her goggles clinking around her neckline as she practically ran into the classroom. 

"Sorry!" She exclaimed, hurriedly tossing a precariously balanced stack of papers onto the desk. As she walked around to the back of the desk, she unclipped her earrings and placed them in a small ashtray, filled with other articles of jewelry. "Oh, my goodness, getting to here from the Teacher's Lounge is such a long walk!" 

The class shared an awkward laugh, most passing grins and nervous eye rolls at each other. The teacher sighed, fanning herself, "Alright, hi class, I'm sorry I'm late. My name is Professor Cathleen Priest, I'm a new teacher here at Beacon, this is my second year." 

"She's a bit of a clutz," Wiley whispered, earning a sympathetic little chuckle from Arun. He focused again on Priest as she stared fishing through her papers.

"Here they are!" She finally exclaimed. "Can you pass these around? Syllabi and a materials list. Shouldn't be too hard to get, most of the materials are provided in class anyway." She paused for a moment, rubbing one of her eyes- she left a red eye-shadow like smudge across her eyelid. Someone snickered in the back. "Um, this class does not have a text book, and we won't be doing anything serious until almost a week from now... Lab safety and all that." 

She blabbed on for a little while longer, and had people read over the syllabus and class materials lists out loud. They played two ice breakers, and Wiley knew she wouldn't remember anyone's names. Only one person in the class had everyone down, and Arun was working hard to get at least half of the class. Priest finally started ending class, rubbing her eye again. "Jeez, why does my eye itch so much... Anyway, I have a demonstration to show you before you leave today." 

She pulled out a pair of test tubes and a beaker from under her desk, as well as a small canister of red Dust. "I'm sure you know the basic properties of most Dusts in their, well, dust forms, no?" 

The class nodded along. Wiley huffed and rested her head in her hand, tapping one finger on the table. "This is so elementary! Even a fifth grader knows that Dusts are more volatile in their dust state." She hissed, glaring subtly as Priest started mixing the contents of the two tubes into the beaker. 

"Now, this may be a bit poofy, but if I mix baking soda and vinegar, it..." She let herself trail off and watched the contents of the vial start proofing up. It expanded in a mass of white foam, almost overflowing from the top of the beaker. "If I do that again, but with dust this time..." 

She mixed a new vial, this time mixing dust into the baking soda. When she poured in the vinegar, the dust ignited, creating a small mushroom cloud that devolved into flames. A small wave of heat wafted over the front two rows, barely touching Arun in the third row. Ms. Priest pulled off her goggles, smiling at her handiwork. "And now, except for some small droplets, the beaker is clean of all substance." 

"But Professor Priest." One of the students in the back raised their hand while speaking. "That's cool and all, but when are we gonna see the _really_ cool stuff?" 

The professor's eyes sparked when she looked up. "Cool stuff? You wanna see cool stuff?" 

"Um," the student gulped, making Wiley glance back. She almost laughed out loud at how terrified they were.

"The _really_ cool stuff would give you nightmares for weeks," Priest said, grinning maliciously. "We'll do this- I'll show you a sample, and if you don't come back to class on Thursday, that's how I'm gonna decide who stays in my class or not." 

She started digging materials and dusts out the cabinets, tossing them onto the desk. When she pulled both hydrochloric acid and ammonia out, followed by raw electric dust, one student actually sprinted out of the room. Wiley watched him leave, then tuned back to Priest, the hairs on the back of her neck standing up. 

Arun gulped when the professor started cackling an mixing things together. She shook the concoction together, whispering, "This is the cool stuff," before dropping the raw dust into the mix. 

It was like a flash grenade and a pound of TNT went off at the same time and only the sound reached their ears. Arun tugged Wiley behind the desk to shield them from the bright light that filled the room, and they stayed under the desk for at least a minute- Wiley couldn't tell, she had been blinded on one side by the bomb. When the light finally died, Arun peaked out. He could see Priest with her head back, presumably cackling, while most of the students scrambled towards the door, their mouths open in terrorized screams. Arun stood, bringing Wiley with him, and led her out of the room, waving to Priest as he left. His hearing returned just enough for him to hear her yell, "See you on Wednesday!" 

Arun and Wiley were halfway to their next class when they could start to hear each other again. The first coherent words out of Wiley's mouth were, "She's insane!!" 

"I wasn't expecting that for our first class..." Arun admitted, rubbing the back if his head. "But it was pretty sick, right? That she basically created a flash grenade out of dust and ammonia." 

"I know. Crazy. I wanna know how she did it," Wiley sighed, letting her head fall back so she could stare at the sky. "So cool... Terrifying, but totally cool." 

"Yeah, and--" Arun started, but quickly stopped talking when a particular conversation caught his ear. Wiley saw the students talking, two from her class who had been blinded an were just now regaining sight, were talking to two students who'd come from another class. 

"Did you say Professor Priest? You're lucky to have survived, she's a monster!" One giggled, waving his hand in front of the other two students' faces. Another scowled and caught his hand, pushing it away from her face while hissing, "It's not funny." 

"She's right, you know." The second blinded student agreed. "Haven't you heard?" 

"Heard what?" The first non-blind student said. 

The blind guy shrugged, squinting while he looked around. "There's this team, rumored to have actually been disbanded due to their, well, less-than-orthodox methods- Team BSHP. Their powerhouse was a chemist who's semblance was the ability to create bombs out of literally anything. The Bishop Bomber!" 

"And you're saying _she's_ the Bomber?!" The last student gasped, covering their mouth with their hands. 

The third student nodded. "Yeah. But it's just a rumor. I heard from some third years that Priest never goes out in the field." 

Arun looked to Wiley, offering a nervous grin. Wiley mirrored the expression, falling into a tense step as they made their way to their next class. 

"Well, happy classes, happy classes~" Wiley muttered between clenched teeth. Arun nodded in agreement, mumbling, "No crazy bomber teachers today, hehe...." 

They found their next class and filed into the small room with another group of students, quickly finding Tristan, Lilac, Kazh, and Isaiah. They sat down with them, looking out over the beige-colored room. It was built half into a cliff, the bleachers they were on being at ground level. In front of them was a small round room, with a slightly raised platform in the back that took up at least four-fifths of the area. There were two windows behind that, covered by thin electronic banisters that were broadcasting Beacon's logo. In between them was a tall statue. The room was nicely lit by an overhead chandelier and spotlights all around, as well as the light filtering in from outside. 

Neta and Reg stumbled in at the last minute, just as a blonde teacher with glasses and a large Scroll stepped onto the stage. The two rushed to take seats at the back, panting heavily. 

"Mister... Savage, Mister Aegeon. Kind of you to join us," Glynda stated, staring up at them. She marked some things down on her scroll, probably them being tardy. 

"Sorry, Professor Goodwitch," Neta's ragged breathing tore up his words, but he was thankful the students only looked at him instead of whispering. Surely they knew about his family, he only dreaded when the civil war would be taught in history. "We got out late." 

"I'm sure," she waved a hand. "Anyway, now that we're all here, let us begin. My name is Glynda Goodwitch, and this will be your general combat class. It will mostly focus on training for tournaments and sparring between you and your peers. I hope to help you all improve in some way, so that not all of you are complete failures." 

She stared pointedly at someone on the other side of the room, then looked back at her scroll. "I know you didn't come prepared for this class, but remember to always being appropriate clothing for battle and your weapons. When I step into this room, I want you ready and changed- There are locker rooms just below you. As for studies, tests, and homework, there will be none." A collective sigh echoed around the room. Glynda continued, "However, I will be grading you on proficiency and participation. Do be sure to come to class on time." 

As she waltzed back to the center of the stage, she stared pointedly in Reg and Neta's general direction. Neta waved at her, smoothly turning the wave to a face palm as he huffed out a sigh. 

"Thank you for volunteering, Mister Savage," Glynda said absentmindedly, waving her hand in an elegant manner. "Come to the stage please. Hm... Miss O'Syrah, you're on his team. Come down here as well." 

Wiley shrugged at the group around her and stood, cracking her shoulders, neck, a knuckles. She took her time getting to the stage, smirking lazily at Neta. "Don't be so tense, Green. This'll be fun." 

"I hope so." Glynda enunciated each word. "We have time for two matches, and you two will be our demo. Do you have your weapons?" 

"I do," Wiley said, patting the gloves at her hip. Neta eyed them wearily, speaking to Glynda without looking at her. "I don't. But if you have a practice spear I can use that." 

"Only one?" Wiley smirked while she armed herself. She immediately transformed Desert Storm to it's double-claw form once she was ready, and got into a fighting stance after kicking off her shoes. Neta nodded, taking the spear from Glynda when she gave it to him. It was heavy, with the counterweight being too off balanced for his liking, and was actually short for him. He spun it around over his head, nearly losing his grip on it. 

"Are you sure you're alright with a practice spear? We can wait until tomorrow," Glynda asked. 

Neta sighed and nodded. "This is good enough." 

"Alright. Then the fight will commence. You'll be getting your application on your Scroll for this class tomorrow. For now, watch this demo." She brought her hand down. "Start."


	7. Me Against the Rules

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And the stunning conclusion to the battle last chapter. Lots of Wiley/Neta and Neta/Kazh bonding up in here lol 
> 
> So on the subject of bonding, feel free to drop a comment with who you ship haha I'd love to hear this (tbh I really ship Wiley with Isaiah and another girl who's coming in later, but my dad ships Isaiah and Kazh.... Heheh tell us who you ship and who your favorite character(s) are if you have any, I'd love to know!)
> 
> Edit: I also aggressively ship Tristan and Neta, and have been dubbing any interactions between Wiley and Neta Coyote Grass god help me. 
> 
> /please can we call all Winter/Ruby ships Winter Rose tho omg

Tristan knew Wiley could be a powerhouse, from what Isaiah, Kazh, and Arun had told him, but he had no idea she'd take Nero down so quickly.

Her attacks were almost effortless, so fluid she made Neta look like a robot. Tristan supposed that maybe she specifically wore her uniform for movement's sake, as she could stay fluid without the restricting blazer and didn't have to worry about flashing while wearing pants. Her movements were deliberate as she hoped and danced around Neta's spear. She eventually moved in close enough that the spear was useless, and jabbed at his side, making him drop one hand from his spear and clutch his side as he stumbled back. Wiley smirked, sending a duo of wind spears at him, that knocked him back and made him drop the weapon.

"Why don't you leave the spear there, Greenie? Weighing you down, isn't it?" She taunted, making a 'come at me' motion with both hands. Neta grunted, kneeling to pick up the spear from the floor. Wiley was courteous enough to wait for him to get up before rushing him.

He grit his teeth, swinging once at her feet, then switching up to her face with a simple parenthesis-shaped movement. She actually ran into that one, jerking back in surprise more than pain.

Wiley retaliated by attacking multiple levels. She kicked at his face, flowed into a slice to the same place, followed by two scratches to his neck and shoulders. He blocked most of the hits, but was so focused on blocking that he pulled his spear away from the ground, leaving himself open. Wiley went from high to low and sweep kicked at his feet, using wind to reinforce the kick and send him toppling over.

She rushed to kick the spear away and step on his chest, pointing one of her blades at his face. Though the weapon was at least three feet away, he still flinched.

"And that, class, is a basic spar. Mister Savage, I'm surprised at your performance," Glynda remarked. He scowled up at the few students laughing after Wiley helped him up, and sulked all the way back to the bleachers. 

Tristan pat his shoulder when he sat down, smiling sympathetically. "Everyone has bad days."

"Yeah, and today was your worst," Wiley joked, grinning broadly. Neta huffed, looking away from them, he didn't need to be teased by her too. That was just rubbing salt in the wound. 

He sulked through the next spar and until class ended. He sulked through lunch, barely eating anything- Wiley had to finish for him. He sulked straight through his last two classes and until he was back in his room for the afternoon to do homework. He'd probably sulk until dinner too if Kazh let this go on.

"Neta," Kazh called.

"Hm?" Neta replied.

"You've been sulking for..." Kazh counted on his fingers. "At least five straight hours. What's up?"

"Nothing," Neta muttered in return, finishing his final notes for his History of Vale class. 

Kazh came over to the desk, leaning next to his teammate. "Is it Wiley?"

"Yes," Neta answered absentmindedly, then quickly halted all writing and looked up from his homework with wide eyes. "I mean-!!"

"Oh, I get it," Kazh grinned. He sat on the edge of the desk, laughing at Neta's expression. 

"It's not Wiley!" Neta tried to defend, futilely.

"What about me?" Wiley asked, also coming over. Reg sighed, pulling his book away from his face and turning to face Neta, propping himself up on his own bed and rolling his eyes at her as he stated, "It's always about Wiley. He just said it's not."

"Well it wouldn't be about her if it wasn't," Kazh said, looking at Neta again. "Was it the spar?"

"... Yeah." Neta looked down at his papers. He flipped his notebook closed and pushed his chair away from the desk, leaning back. "I partially blame the practice weapon, if it wasn't so short..."

"Just bring yours tomorrow then- we can have a rematch," Wiley offered, snickering. "I'll just kick your butt again, but at least you'll feel slightly less bad about it."

"Not helping, Miss O'Syrah." Reg said, rolling his eyes. "What else did you find problematic about that spar?"

Neta shrugged, looking away from his team. "It's just... I've never, ya know, gone down that fast. Wiley doesn't fight by the rules I'm used to."

"Oooh, you're one of those guys," Kazh said, cocking a crooked smirk. "You and Reggie are so conventional."

"Reggie-!!" Reg griped, earning a barking laugh from Wiley. Kazh shushed them easily. 

"So I guess the solution would be to loosen up. Don't cling to your rules so hard. Let it go a little, dude."

"Yeah but..." Neta started. He wanted to improve and become stronger, but he had habits. He's been training with spears for at least three years, and was still defaulting to basics when he messed anything up. He wanted to improve, but how could he if he couldn't even be prepared for Wiley to fight a little dirty?

"Never mind," Neta finally said, dismissing them with a wave of his hand. "It's almost time for dinner, right? We should get going."

"But... Fine, if you say so..." Kazh muttered, a little unsure of dropping the subject. The four of them tidied up the room a bit and headed out, with Kazh locking the door. Before Neta could walk off, Kazh took his shoulder and turned him around. "Hey, just because I'm team leader doesn't mean you can't talk to me. It's my job to take care of you, but as a friend more than anything. We can even do some training together, if you want, since I don't fight very conventionally either."

"Yeah, I know." Neta nodded, patting Kazh's upper arm. "Thanks, Kazh. But I'll figure it out."

* * *

Neta grunted, swinging his spear down at the floor. Practicing forms was only a basic workout for him, but when he put 110% of his effort into it, he actually worked up a sweat. He was glad that his exercise clothes were loose and airy though, shorts and a T-shirt allowed him to cool down quick, and the short ponytail kept his hair from getting too messy. He'd gone through spear forms, and two different sets of attacks with his daggers. Melee wasn't his strong point- archery was more his thing, but that didn't stop him from practicing anyway.

He brought his spear down again, then swung it in a circle above his head, which he followed up with another circular spin around him coupled with a jump. He finished by performing a wide slash at his imaginary opponent's midsection, staying in place for a short while.

Applause caught his ear. If he was in a better mood, he would have been startled. But he greeted Wiley with a sour, "Oh, it's you."

Wiley's smirk didn't drop. "Nice dance moves, Twinkle-toes. Why'd you stop?"

"You," He answered, returning to his forms. Wiley shrugged and walked over, watching him a bit more. He noted that she was also in exercise gear, with leggings that weren't the same as the twenty others she owned and a sleeveless top, her arms covered in her white compression gloves. He swung his spear around behind him, fluidly spinning and bringing it down back in front of him. When he brought it back up and to his left, gasping when Wiley put her arm up and blocked his spear. It bounced slightly, making him pull back. "Sorry."

"Hey, it's 'kay, I'm tough," She stated, pulling away. "What's on your mind?"

He rolled his eyes, answering, "Not you bothering me when I'm trying to practice."

"I'm here to practice too. And give you some tips weather you want them or not," Wiley retorted, smirking. "Come on, Greenie, it'll make me feel better if you put up more of a fight next time."

Neta huffed, blowing a stray hair out of his face. "I hate you," he answered, with no real power or hatred behind it. He lowered his spear and looked to Wiley. "What are we doing?"

"That's the spirit!" Wiley grinned at him. "Start with stretching, for one. You're so tense you'll tear a muscle if you do anything."

"Shut up," he muttered, sitting down and starting to stretch with her. Her ponytail fell over her shoulder, while she reached out to grab her foot with both hands. She practically bent in half, her forehead touching her knee. Neta could barely even touch his toe without feeling a strong stretch in his back.

"Ah, that's nice..." Wiley muttered, smiling while she stretched her back, then moved to the other leg. Neta watched her, asking, "How are you so flexible?"

"Years of practice. I can do the splits too, wanna see?" She asked, grinning lopsidedly at him. Neta shook his head.

"Just teach me something and get out of here."

"So pushy," she commented, rolling her eyes. She stood, stretched out her arms, then readied herself in a stance. "Alright, Green, you gotta loosen up. Let go of all that formal training stuff. You wanna learn to fight like me? First you learn to break the rules. Playing by the book may be great for the Honor Roll and all, but in a fight, if you don't fight with your own moves you don't fight to win."

"And I'm supposed to do that how?" Neta raised an eyebrow. Wiley stood up from her stance, cantering one hip. "Start with how you hold your weapons. How do you use your daggers?"

"One in each hand," Neta answered, like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Do the same with your spears," She answered. "Let me see one?"

"Come and get it from me," Neta challenged, and regretted it almost immediately. Before he even blinked, he was on the floor, clutching his gut while Wiley held his spear in one hand.

"So light," she commented, swinging it- she must have used her semblance to make the spear make a whistling noise. "You can totally use these one handed."

"Yes, that's great, can I have it back," Neta coughed, holding out a hand as he got up.

"No," Wiley chirped. He shouldn't have expected anything less. "Get it back."

Neta drew his other blade, extending it to a full sized spear. He swung at her from above, allowing her to easily block. She moved in, holding his spear up with her own, and swung her fist at his stomach, pushing him away with help from her semblance.

He stumbled back and eyed her wearily as she adjusted her grip until the stolen spear was behind her. To combat that... She was definitely being defensive, allowing him to come to her. His two options were to charge and be faster, or wait it out for her to come to him.

He charged her, striking low at her feet. Wiley jumped back, swinging the spear out from behind her leg to block his next swing at her feet. She crossed one leg behind her and brought it close to the other side of the spear, locking him in place for a second, then moved her other foot forward until she was pressing his fingers between the staffs of his own spears.

Neta held up for a minute or two, before finally yelping and pulling away. He stood, shaking his hand. Wiley used her toes to pick up the spear and handed it back. "Your approach isn't working. Try another."

Neta growled and collapsed his spear again, holding the dagger backwards in his hand. Wiley held his spear forward with one hand, parallel to the ground, and waited for him once more.

He rushed her, dodging her first diagonal slice and swinging his blade at her. She backed up quickly, just barely keeping one of her locks of hair from getting severed. He moved in again, even closer this time, locking a leg behind hers so she'd trip when he swung. Instead, Wiley fell back into a bridge, bringing a foot up to kick him in the jaw. She missed, but succeeded in forcing him back. They separated, Wiley landing in a crouch with the spear still in her hand.

"You're not breaking rules yet!" She barked, swinging the spear up. She sent a blast of wind in his direction, ruffling his hair and knocking him back a bit. Neta held his ground, then let her come in for an attack. He used both his arm and dagger to block, snaking his free arm around and under the spear. He readied himself, then twisted away from Wiley, jerking his spear out of her hand.

Wiley leapt back from his slice, then bent back away from his second attack from both his spear and dagger at the same time. She back flipped twice, doing a double spin on a third flip to disperse the wind around her. Neta pointed his blades at her, glaring her down.

"What now?" He hissed, his breath coming to him rapidly. Wiley shook her head, her hair swishing along her back. 

"Look at how you've got your weapons. Try working with that."

Neta stared at his hands, his dagger and spear, then up at Wiley. She was already walking out, and he didn't deem it necessary to call out to her. Breaking rules... He'd never fought with two weapons in his hands unless they were both daggers, he'd take Wiley's advice and try this new form.

* * *

The next day's class started easily. For one, Reg and Neta weren't late, though they weren't dressed either. Glynda gave them a tour of the locker rooms, then had the class upload the app to their scrolls once they got back to bleachers. Glynda then dismissed some students to change, and got another spar started- a two-verses-two between Lilac and Tristan and two members of team ORNJ.

Their names were Roland Grey and Yuki Namine, and to be honest, they didn't look that menacing. Yuki was a small kid, with short grey hair and bangs covering her face. She had a pair of intricately carved daggers that looked to be unfoldable, two more crossed at her lower back, the other empty sheathes at her hips. Roland on the other hand, was tall and muscular, with dark skin and piercing purple eyes. He had short black hair, wore a full suit of armor, and had a long pike to complete the knight look. He towered over Lilac by at least a six inches.

Neta finished changing before Reg did, and came to sit with Kazh and Isaiah. Arun and Wiley sat behind them, watching the fight with much intrest, especially Arun.

Minnie zipped around Yuki's feet, making her yelp and stumble back. The girl crouched low, swinging a dagger at Minnie. While she was preoccupied, Tristan blasted her with a jet of water, knocking her over. Lilac whistled, calling Minnie back, and charged at Roland, brandishing her modified broadsword.

When she hit him, she hit hard. Her first few swings pushed him back and forced him on the defensive. Minnie followed each swing with a hit of her own, zipping around Roland and forcing him back even further. He retaliated with a grunt, just barely moving Lilac, but she blocked both of his hits quickly. Minnie raced up the back of Roland's pike, stopping herself against the blade of Lilac's spear. Lilac readied herself, and Minnie pushed off the spear, slamming into Roland's face with a flip. He was sent stumbling, tripping over Yuki who was trying to free her daggers from being frozen to the floor.

"S-sorry Roland!" She yelped, finally managing to tear her daggers out of the ice. Before Roland could speak, Tristan blasted them with a jet of cold fire, followed by a jet of freezing water that actually knocked them off of the stage.

"Nice follow up, Tristan!" Lilac called, whistling for Minnie to return. The little Grimm hopped onto her shoulder, chittering excitedly.

Roland pulled himself to his feet, and the armor from his shoulder and upper arm folded and became a shield to block Tristan's next blast of fire. He readied his pike to throw it, the armor not receding from it's shield form. Tristan held out both hands, and the area of the weapon at Roland's hand started to glow, as well as the shield. He yelped, letting his pike go instantly.

"What was that!" He yelled.

"My semblance," Tristan smiled, giving a thumbs up. Yuki rose from her spot, now brandishing a pair of swords, and pouted. "If you can use yours, I can use mine!"

She hopped onto Roland's shoulders, using him as a spring board to get in the air. When she was high enough, she started plummeting towards Tristan and Lilac, picking up speed as she went. At first Tristan didn't move from his spot, but when he saw that she was gaining speed and had no intention of stopping, he scattered. She crashed down behind him, throwing him to the floor with the strength of her impact. She turned around, rushing at Lilac and unleashing a torrent of slashes with her swords, tossing one into the air so she could draw a dagger off of her back, unfolding it almost immediately. She caught two in one hand, forcing Lilac back a ways with another flurry of slashes.

Tristan was slow to recover out of sheer surprise, and aimed Supersoaker at Yuki. Before he could pull the trigger, Roland rammed into his side and sent him tumbling away again, his jet of water spraying the ceiling and filling the room with freezing cold rain. The tables seemed to be turning in Team ORNJ's favor.

"Tristan!" Lilac called, knocking Yuki away. The smaller girl jumped back, folding and sheathing one of her swords so she only had two again. 

Yuki looked around, eyes wide, yelling, "Roland! The Grimm, watch out for--"

Minnie rushed by Yuki, slamming into her jaw and knocking her off balance. Minnie bounced off the wall and flew back at Yuki, hitting her across the other side of the face and knocking her down. She gasped in pain as Minnie bounced up again, meeting Lilac's downward swing and pushing off the flat side of the sword, slamming into Yuki's back. The girl cried out, falling limp to the floor.

"Sorry," Lilac mumbled, and ran to help Tristan.

For the record, if there was one thing Tristan hated most in the world, that was having his hair pulled. And Roland, who didn't know that, happened to grab his braid and tug him back when he was trying to gain some distance. Tristan's first reaction was to hit Roland in the face with Blowtorch, then super heat his flames and blast Roland in the face. Roland reared back and let Tristan's hair go, falling back into Lilac's hit. She vaulted herself off the floor and landed on his chest, and with help from Minnie, pushed him to the ground and incapacitated him.

"That's the match," Glynda stated. "The winners are team TIAL."

Their faces flashed on the screens in front of the windows, showing green and red bars under them- Lilac's bar was about half full, while Tristan's was just on the verge of being completely gone. He huffed, waving at the students in the bleachers, sending a wink at a group of girls. They giggled, waving back at him and cooing when he started pretending to flex.

Lilac sighed and helped Yuki and Roland up, shaking their hands. "Good job. Thank you for the spar."

Minnie jumped up on Yuki's shoulder, licking at the girl's cheek. She giggled, petting Minnie's back hesitantly. "Thanks, Lilac. Let's spar again some time."

"Yes," Roland agreed, shaking Wisteria's hand again. His hand was a little cold with the feel of his Aura. "I enjoyed fighting a swordsman of your caliber. Your Semblance is quite fascinating, what is it anyway?" 

"Oh. I can increase the space of objects without adding mass," Lilac explained with a smile as they started heading back to the bleachers. She grabbed Tristan's collar and tugged him along, making him yelp and the girls laugh at him.

As Tristan and Lilac sat down, Arun tugged at Yuki's sleeve when she passed by. "Hey, Yuki, right? That attack you did-" he motioned to the area of the stage Glynda was fixing with her telekinesis. "Was really, really cool. What's your semblance?"

"Oh. It's, uh, Kinetic Manipulation. I can build kinetic energy, and then keep building it and building it, regardless of how much potential energy I've got. I just like having high potential energy before I use my semblance, so there's less to build." Yuki explained, smiling timidly.

"That's so cool!" Arun exclaimed, clapping. "I manipulate time of inanimate objects. I can make them go faster or slower but I can't make them stronger. Maybe if we spar I can show you how it works. Oh, I bet we could pull off a sick combination move."

"Yeah, that'd be fun," Yuki nodded, then waved shyly at him. "See ya around..."

She found her seat with the rest of her team, and went back to watching the spars. Glynda called another two students down, and they spared for a while. Two more students went after that, one of them being another member from Team ORNJ, Jasper Chau Yin. He was tall and lanky with short hair and a small ponytail split over his shoulders and jade-green glasses, had the ability to leave multiple jade-colored and stagnant clones of himself, and fought with a spiked ball and chain that was probably illegal in most countries. Also the clones were like brick walls and shattered into glass when hit, dissipating shortly after. Isaiah liked watching him fight, and thought she could maybe learn a thing or two, seeing how their fighting styles were similar. Finally, Glynda called for the last pair.

"Neta, Wiley. Do you two want a rematch today?"

Neta looked over at Wiley, who shrugged and stood. "I'll take it."

Kazh took Neta's shoulder before he stood. "Are you ready this time?"

Neta offered a nod. "Yeah. I'm ready. Hopefully."

"He'll be fine," Tristan offered, punching Neta's shoulder lightly. "Kick her butt."

"I dunno about that, Wiley was pretty cool yesterday," Arun stated, smiling sympathetically. "Good luck, Neta."

"Right." He stood and made his way down to the stage, drawing his daggers. Wiley had her gloves on in their base form, and was bouncing back and forth on her toes. She stopped, jabbed forward a few times, and then sent him a dark grin. "You ready for this, Greenie?"

"Only if you are." He extended one dagger into a spear, pointing it at her. A ragged silence fell over the room, some students sensing the new, more serious vibe Neta possessed. Others were hushed in anticipation, for him to either go down easily or win by a landslide. It was all very tense as Glynda set up the field on her Scroll.

"A new form?" Lilac whispered. 

Reg nodded. "Or maybe it's because he's got two weapons today."

"I've only seen him use one so far though," Isaiah told them. "This is new. He rarely uses two weapons unless they're both daggers."

"They did some practice together last night," Kazh noted, watching intently. Neta shifted slightly, leaning more onto his toes, then rocking back to his heels. "He's definitely trying something new. See the hesitance he has in moving his feet?"

"Footwork isn't his strong point," Isaiah commented, cracking a smile. "That's why he's much better at archery, he doesn't have to move. This will be interesting, since I haven't seen him fight in a few years. Let's see what he's picked up."

"Start," Glynda commanded, and immediately backed out of the ring. She sensed the new energy as well, and was ready to intervene if needed.

Neta rushed forward, bringing his spear down at Wiley. She dodged to her left with a hop, tumbling away from him. When she got to her feet, she immediately flipped forward three times, spinning another three times on her last flip. She sent a blast of wind at Neta, which he blocked with both his spear and dagger. However, covering his face didn't prepare him for her kick, because he couldn't see it.

She flipped back, using him as a springboard and pushing him back with a large gust of wind. Neta grunted as he lost his footing and sprawled across the floor, using his weak momentum to roll sideways and stand again. He leveled his spear at Wiley, who was already charging him, six spears of wind behind her, and he charged to meet her.

For two seconds, it looked like she was about to actually take him out. Some of the students covered their eyes, preparing for the fight to be over. Kazh sat on the edge of his seat, whispering, "Come on, Neta!"

Neta ducked, jabbing his spear at the ground. Wiley barked, all of her wind dispersing with the sudden stop, and she forced herself to hop over him. It wasn't powerful, and Neta yanked his spear out of the ground, arcing it over his head and slamming it harshly into Wiley's shoulder. She yelped an went down, a large portion of her bar dropping.

A collective "oohhh," echoed around the room, and the tension became thick with anticipation. Yesterday's spar almost looked like a fluke compared to this... Wiley did a quick windmill, spitting wind at Neta, then kicked to her feet, standing offensively. He was ready for her, extending his dagger to it's full length, and swung both spears at her head from his right.

The class erupted in cheers for Neta, while Isaiah's eyes widened. This was totally new for him. Someone yelled, "Come on, Claws, get him!!" from a few seats away, which was followed by a chorus of cheers for Wiley, some mixed jeers here and there. She grunted, readying her arm for a block, and took the hit like it was nothing.

Neta didn't remember her arm being so hard. They locked in place for a second, and Nero got a close look at the white glove she was wearing. Armor inlaid. She must have had another under her sleeve.

Wiley smirked, stepping in towards him. "Why don't I try out some new moves too?"

She gripped the top spear with her right hand and tugged, ducking slightly as she pulled it over her head. With her left hand, she snaked her arm around the other spear, making Neta gasp and try to pull back. Wiley used the other spear to shake him, then puffed a blast of wind into his face with her mouth before twisting her upper body and ripping the spear from his hand.

Neta stumbled back, now holding only one weapon, and stared at Wiley as she tossed his spear into the air and caught it again, like it was hers to begin with. She smirked and pointed it at him, cocking her head to the side. "Cute new tricks you got there."

"Oh, I remember that-" Kazh said, grinning. "Wiley had me practice that with her when she got back last night. I had no idea this was how she was gonna use it."

"What a dent to his pride that must be, having his own weapon used against him," Lilac commented sympathetically, crossing her hands and resting her chin on them. Tristan and Arun were standing now, Tristan screaming, "Come on, Neta, get it back! You can still win!"

Neta glanced up at the screens in front of the windows. His bar was his barely below half, but Wiley had less. Still green, but less. That was something. He contemplated his actions, he could either be offensive and--

Wait.

What did Wiley say, loosen up, break the rules? Breaking rules, being reckless... As a kid, he'd rarely done that- it didn't help that his family was so rich and proper that they pushed him to be posh. But being reckless... When he had broken rules, it had been fun, a relief even. He'd recklessly joined Beacon. He'd recklessly agreed to spar Wiley once. And now, if he recklessly fought, maybe he'd be able to pick up a thing or two, and even win.

Because Wiley had one of his weapons and could probably turn the tables at any moment. What was the harm in being just a little but more brash?

Throwing caution to the wind, Neta charged Wiley. He could see her face change, as she sensed the sudden change in his body language and movements. She swung her spear down, nocking Neta's hit to the floor, but he rolled with it, using his momentum to slide forward and rip his spear out of the ground. He let it go for a fraction of a second, allowing it to spin in place, then caught it and easily spun his spear around his back, aiming for where he thought Wiley's face was. Though his back was facing Wiley, he knew she'd be too preoccupied with blocking to attack.

And block she did. She smacked the back of his spear with the back of hers when his attack almost hit her from above, then met his blade in the same way. Neta collapsed his blade into a dagger, then spun into a couch, slashing at Wiley. He just narrowly caught her across her chest and shoulder, ripping her shirt and sleeve lightly.

She gaped and hopped back, watching her bar drop to red. The class erupted in cheers again, even more students standing to cheer Neta on. Wiley's cheerleaders increased in volume to match, filling the room with so many echoes Glynda had to shush them.

Wiley grit her teeth, back flipped twice to build power, and then rushed at Neta, using wind to gain speed. She dodged his first stab, just barely avoiding his dagger elongating and getting herself stabbed. She pivoted and rushed to his left, then did the same motion back towards his right, slashing with the spear held backwards in her hand. She crouched low, tumbling over her shoulder and threw the spear at him, reinforcing the attack with enough wind to make it whistle. Neta blocked with a spin of his spear, but the force of the impact sent him skidding back, and sent the thrown spear flying up, towards the back of the room where it embedded itself in the wall between the two windows. Neta took a second to glance back, noticing that he now had even less on his bar than Wiley, and looked up just in time to see her coming at him with a punch that had his name all over it.

He collapsed his blade just fast enough to block, but the force still sent him tumbling back. Wind whipped around him, then suddenly flew back towards Wiley. She came to stand over him, kicking his dagger away again and stepping on his chest just like the last spar. He could see three spears floating behind her arm, and let his head fall back. "Uncle."

"That's the match," Glynda stated, nodding. She glanced up to see the bars under the student's faces, Wiley's just barely a fifth full and blinking, and Nero's basically gone. "With that, class is over. Please change and head to your next class, you have fifteen minutes."

Wiley flicked her arm, the wind behind her dispersing. She helped Neta up, slapping his shoulder. "Good job, Green. Way to make a comeback."

"You still won," He said, gathering his weapon. Wiley shrugged. 

"It was closer than last time."

"Why are you being so nice," He finally asked, tone exasperated. "Between yesterday and today. I'm a little weirded out that you've suddenly been replaced by a clone."

Wiley barked a laugh, tossing her head back. "You're crazy. Cloning isn't possible yet, unless you're that Jasper guy," Jasper looked up at them, waved, and followed Roland into the locker room. Wiley continued, "But I didn't want any member of my team to be a failure. Until today, you were basically our weakest link. You can't hold us back, so I took it upon myself to help out."

"Gee, thanks. Sorry for holding you back by shooting down a hoard of Grimm during initiation," Neta huffed, looking to Glynda. She was using her telekinesis to fix the stage and pull his spear from the wall. The rest of the teams were coming down from the bleachers, Tristan giving him a thumbs up on the way to the locker room. Neta sighed, giving Wiley a narrowed-eyed look. "Also can you stop calling me Green? I have a name you know."

"I know. But Green is easier to say," She explained curtly, placing her hands akimbo. 

"Fine. How about this: when I beat you, you call me Nero. Deal?" Neta mimicked the gesture and huffed, he had a sneaking suspicion she had actually forgotten his name. 

"If you beat me," Wiley corrected with a roll of her eyes. "But sure. Good luck, Green."

She headed off to the locker room, while Neta went to gather his spear from Glynda. She held it for a moment when he took it.

"That was a wonderful performance today, Mister Savage," She congratulated. 

Neta looked between her and the spear. "Thanks. I guess you could say I had a little outside help this time."

"Oh, I certainly hope you weren't _cheating,_ " Glynda warned, glaring at him. Neta couldn't help but smirk as she let the spear go and he took it back, sheathing both of his weapons. 

"But Professor Goodwitch, I could never. That's against the _rules._ "

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> !; &/&;bshsks!;:'kxh$;&/@jekfbsm I'm so happy with how I ended this chapter, I feel so clever huehue. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! I don't know when the next update will be, but expect some intensity, including Wiley being part of the White Fang, and Reg (almost) getting a girlfriend..... *cackles* Also bike races between said "girlfriend" and Kazh.
> 
> See ya next time~


	8. I Want A Bad Girl

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'd have posted this at 2 AM (12 AM CA time) this morning, but my wifi died. My original notes are as follows: 
> 
> Guys it's 2 in the morning in Texas I haven't done this since like, two weeks ago why am I up at-- 
> 
> Wait midnight CA time isn't bad... 
> 
> Anyway, one of the harder updates for me OTL Sorry it took so long. We're getting into more interesting things soon, so I should be working on those now that the hard parts out of the way... 
> 
> There are a couple of things I have to note: This is a very intense chapter, dealing a lot with Wiley being White Fang. I think we see a completely new, more insecure side of both her and Kazh this chapter, so I hope you can find a way to enjoy that.  
> When I use the word Lolita describing Giselle's motorcycle, I mean the fashion style (like gothic lolita, hime lolita, shiro lolita, ect.) not the... Other definition. I don't think Giselle's bike is a loli lol  
> Speaking of Giselle, she is a multiple offender abuser, and uses miltiple types of verbal and mental abuse to get to people. If that is triggering to you, please be careful when reading through Giselle's parts- I'd greatly appreciate you staying in good mental health :)  
> Lastly, at the part where Reg starts boasting about being a Duke and an archduke or whatever? Don't worry about it. Pronunciation of made-up countries doesn't matter, and they never come again anyway.
> 
> EDIT: I'm sorry if referring to Giselle's motorcycle and Kazh's bicycle both as 'bike' is confusing XD;; It's slang for both my parents use all the time lol

Giselle liked riding her bike. She loved the rush of wind through her hair, loved the thrum of the motor through her body. She loved how fast she could go, and how loud the roar of the engines sounded in her ears.

But what Giselle liked most, was winning races.

And the chumps that illegally modded bikes and raced them in the back alleys were just her kind of people.

She bribed the lady at the front gate to let her in, and rode her way inside. Most of the people there stared her down when she entered, her clean and casual style standing out in their messy, ratty-leather-and-torn-jeans-with-tats appearance. She leaned back on her bike, flipping her hair over her shoulder. Even her motorcycle looked out of place, it could almost be describe as _lolita_  compared to the motorcycles around her.

"Hey, I think you wandered into the wrong alley, Lady," A woman called, snickering. One of the guys near her joined in, "Yeah, your home's probably that way."

"No, I'm right where I wanna be," Giselle stated, batting her lashes at them. One of the guys gasped, and whispered something about slit pupils to the girl who spoke first. Giselle thanked her Faunus heritage for giving her sharp hearing. She tuned them out.

As she looked around, spying a bike that she liked. Maybe if it went faster than hers, she bribe the owner for a trade... With a new paint job, that gaudy orange could be transformed into a beautiful blood red. Yeah...

"Racers, are you ready!"

Giselle's head snapped up. She revved her engine, setting off a few car alarms close by. She pulled up next to the orange bike, nodding to the owner. "Hey, Sweet Thing."

"Hey yourself," She replied, sending Giselle a grin through her helmet. Giselle smiled sweetly back, patting the woman's motorcycle as she noted, "This is a sick ride. May the best woman win~"

"You got it, hon," The other motorcyclist said as the countdown started. "But you'll be eating my dust. No hard feelings."

Giselle revved her engine again and grinned, leaning forward. "Oh, no, Sweet Thing, no hard feelings. I'll see you at the finish line~"

With that, the announcer screamed, "GO!!" and Giselle took off, doing a wheelie as she threw smoke up behind her.

* * *

It was four weeks into the semester already, and Professor Priest had been absent for three days already- Today was one of those days. The class was down to sixteen people, Wiley and Arun included, and at least three of them were chronically late and ditching due to fear. Jasper Chau Yin was one of those students, Wiley noted, who chronically ditched class, and he always came to her and Arun for notes.

The class for the day was easy, as they were finishing up a simple experiment that they'd started the week before. Wiley was dutifully taking notes, while Arun was adding and mixing substances.

"You think if I add uncut ice to this, it'll solidify?" He asked. 

Wiley looked up, then nodded. "It'll probably frost the outside of the beaker too, but I don't think we'd be able to clean that easily- you know how hard it is to melt raw ice."

"True," Arun laughed. "Maybe just a little..."

They spent another ten minutes finishing their notes and discussing what to do, eventually deciding not to add the dust. They were the second group to clean up, moving towards the sinks at the back.

"Hey, Wiley," Arun started. She looked down at him, green eyes trained on his brown orbs. "Yeah?"

"Lilac's planning to go out and explore town tomorrow, and asked me to invite you guys. Wanna come?" He said, leaning against the sink. Wiley rinsed out one of the test tubes, lightly placing it on a rack above the back of the sink. 

"Sounds like fun," she intoned, smiling at him. "I'll ask Kazh and the others about it."

"Cool! If you come, meet us in the courtyard at eleven tomorrow morning! We'll probably be out until five, so bring your scroll so you can get some food," Arun told her, a bright smile across his face.

"Got it. I'll tell them later if it isn't mentioned in the next class," Wiley responded. She placed the last test tube on the rack and the two headed back to the front of the room to hand their papers into the sub. They left soon after, leisurely heading to the next class.

* * *

Kazh rolled out to the courtyard on Kona no less than five minutes early. Lilac was already waiting with Arun, the two dressed casually instead of their usual combat uniforms. Kazh parked his bike next to them, giving them a broad smile. "Yo."

"Hey, Kazh!" Lilac greeted. She had her bag over her shoulder, and Minnie was sitting on the opposite side of the strap. Arun gave Kazh a wave and a bright grin.

"Hey! We're waiting on Tristan, Isaiah isn't going to come," Arun told him, tone a little disappointed at the mention of Isaiah not coming.

"Aww. Neta's not either," Kazh replied, swinging one leg off of his bike and balancing on it easily. "Wiley and Reg will be down in a bit, Reg takes forever to get ready."

"Tristan does too, sometimes," Arun said, putting a hand on his chin. "Today is one of those days."

"Yeah," Kazh agreed. He heard faint bickering in the distance, and turned to Arn. The lion's face lit up and he exclaimed, "Reg and Wiley!"

The two rounded the bend, bickering over Reg's bow tie. Wiley laughed loudly, ruffling Reg's slicked-back hair into it's usual messy style, and ran away before he could hit her for it. She jogged over to Kazh, slapping low fives with him. "Sup, guys."

"Hey Wiley, Reg," Kazh greeted, nodding his head at his shorter teammate. Reg fumed a bit, but nodded back anyway. "Any word from Tristan?"

"Considering I stole his shoes? Yeah he'll be down-" Reg shrugged, getting cut off by a person barreling into him.

"Now!" Tristan exclaimed, jumping behind Reg and grabbing one of his shoulders. "Hey guys!"

"Nice of you to join us," Lilac smiled, looking around. "Now that we're all here, shall we go?"

"Yup," Kazh agreed with a grin, hopping back on his bike. He slowly pedaled alongside the group, steering with one hand. "So where to first?"

"We could hit up the mall or one of the parks, or the docs," Arun told them as they headed towards the hovercraft docks. Ships waited on the weekends at designated times to take students to town and back- the next ship left at 11:15, so they were right on time.

"Why don't we check out the docks first?" Wiley suggested. Tristan nodded in agreement, falling into step with Reg. 

"Yeah. We can walk around for a bit afterwards and get some lunch," he suggested, waggling his fingers near Reg's face as he spoke.

"The mall after lunch would be nice as well, there's some things I'd like to get," Reg commented, earning a word of approval from Lilac.

"Then that's our schedule!" Arun cheered. "Docks, wandering, lunch, mall, and we'll finish with a trip to at least one park."

"The last ship back leaves the station at 5:10, so let's try to be back between 4:45 and 5:00." Lilac stated. They waited for a few minutes until the ship pulled up, and boarded it with a small group of four who were also heading to town for the weekend.

The ride into the city of Vale took about twenty minutes, which the group chatted all the way through. They touched down in Vale and exited the ship, Kazh still riding his bike. Tristan hopped on the back, and the two circled the group while they walked. They passed through one of the main, more crowded streets of the city on their way to the docks, almost losing Kazh and Tristan on the way. After a quick call, they managed to find the boys examining hats at a street vendor.

"Gonna get something?" Wiley asked. Kazh shrugged, grinning as he turned to see Arun and Tristan tried on hats with Lilac. 

"Probably not- I don't think any of these are my color." He put a fluorescent green one back on the rack.

They moved on, finally emerging on the docks. A ship was coming in, another freighter from Schnee Dust Company, but that wasn't new. Lilac took a deep whiff of the ocean smell, closing her eyes happily. "Mmm, I love the smell of the sea... Reminds me of home..."

"Home?" Arun asked, also taking a deep breath. Reg and Wiley both made disgusted faces of the smell.

"How could you live with this?" Wiley asked, plugging her nose. "It's so... Smelly."

"I come from an island- at least, before we had to relocate... But it always smelled like the sea. It was nice, especially when it rained," Lilac explained.

"I'm from an island too- before I was adopted at least," Tristan said. "I don't remember the smell of the sea much though."

"We were near the coast, but you could have been more inland of the island," Lilac giggled. "I guess that would explain the dark-skin-blonde-hair thing going on though."

"Genetics," he stated, tapping his nose. Arun laughed and shook his head.

Kazh looked around at the area. Since it was right on the edge of town, the backs of the buildings faced the water lapping calmly against the cement. Some of the buildings were facing forward, but only because they were piers or tourist shops. Only six or so ships were docked, and some of the buildings had graffiti scrawled across the walls. It was wide open though, and even though there were very few people coming in, Kazh could see himself riding around and performing one day.

Reg had taken up talking with Team TIAL, but Wiley wasn't close to them- she was halfway down the dock, looking over some graffiti. Kazh stared at it curiously, pedaling over. "Wiley, what are you-"

His breath hitched at the logo, half covered by other paint. A panther's head with three claw marks behind it. White Fang.

"Wiley," he started, making her turn around. "What's with the White Fang paint...?"

"Oh," She looked between him and the poster, and spied the rest of the group looking at her. She gave them a wave, then looked back at Kazh. "I thought you knew I was part of it."

"I- That would have been nice to know," Kazh spluttered, staring at the white paint again. She shrugged, offering, "Idunno, I just thought it was _obvious_..."

"Hey, what's happening over here-" Tristan started, stopping almost immediately when he saw the poster. Lilac gasped and covered her mouth, Reg narrowing his eyes dangerously at Kazh. 

"Explain yourself," Reg demanded, taking a step towards Kazh.

"Don't worry guys, it's just me," Wiley told them nonchalantly, examining her nails. "Just checking when the next meeting is, no big deal."

"No big deal!" Reg mimicked, his voice rising in volume. "You're part of the White Fang! Do you have any idea what kinds of atrocities they've committed?!"

"He's right. The White Fang has done some pretty questionable things- How could you, Wiley?" Tristan accused. 

She sent him a glare, cracking her knuckles. "You're one to talk, Blondie. You two ain't Faunus, you wouldn't understand."

"Well Faunus rights, we get, but Wiley..." Lilac tried to plead, offering a placating hand. "It's the White Fang. There are so many other organizations you could have joined-"

"I would have, if any of them _worked!_ " Wiley yelled, swinging her arm out and punching the wall with the side of her fist. "You talked about being relocated, Lilac- Try having that happen every year or so because of human Dust excavating. If any other organization was defending helpless Faunus, I'd have jumped on the band wagon. But the White Fang is the only group actually fighting back, and if you can't handle me wanting to get myself and my family equal rights, you're not people I want to associate with!"

She turned to storm away, ignoring Arun when he called after her. The lion looked between the logo and the direction she went, then started to go after her.

"Arun, don't," Tristan commanded, looking away from the paint, face pained. "Let her go."

"But Tristan, she's our- my friend, I have to go talk to her!" Arun exclaimed, waving his arms frantically.

"I don't think White Fang scum like her needs any of us," Reg spat, crossing his arms. "The nerve of her-"

"Reg, she's not scum- She's just doing what she thinks is best-" Lilac defended, earning a distasteful look.

"Do you think taking innocent lives is what's best, Lilac? Are you willing to forgive a murderer?" Reg demanded of her, making Lilac look down and clutch at the hem of her skirt. Tristan sent a harsh glare at Reg, opening his mouth to say something.

"She's your teammate, how can you call her a murderer!" Arn cried, before Tristan could speak. "Do you even know her that well-!"

Tristan put a calming hand on his shoulder, and stared at Reg. "He's right, Reg. That was uncalled for."

"It's probably the truth..." Reg huffed, earning a slap to the back of his head from Kazh. "Ow-!!"

"Tristan's right, that was rude and you shouldn't be saying those things without hearing what she has to say. I'm sorry to cut this short, but I'm going to go after her." He looked to Arun. "I respect that you want to help, but as her team leader it should be me who talks to her about this."

"But I--" Arun looked at the ground. "You're right. I understand."

"Good. Thanks, Arun," Kazh said, ruffling his hair. "I'll leave Reg in your care, and contact you after we've talked. See ya guys later."

With that, Kazh rode off in the direction Wiley had gone, morphing Kona into a hovercraft before he turned into an alley. Lilac turned to Reg and crossed her arms, clearly annoyed. "That was kind of you."

"What, stating the truth?" Reg snapped, glaring at her. Tristan copied Lilac's stance, shaking his head.

"That wasn't stating the truth, that was outright insulting her," Tristan replied.

"The White Fang is full of filthy murderers, cheats, and liars. If she's part of them--" Reg started, getting cut off by Arun.

"Not all of them are bad people!" The young lion defended. "You heard Wiley, no other organization was doing anything! She did the only thing she could to take action!"

"Oh, are you part of them too, then?" Reg demanded, stepping forward. Tristan immediately stepped in front of Reg, halting him. He stared at Reg cooly, hissing, "Don't even think about picking a fight with my teammates!"

"Are you defending them now? Huh, Tristan? After what the White Fang did to your birth parents?!" Reg spat, taking Tristan's collar. Tristan grit his teeth and pushed Reg away, yelling, "For someone who's part Faunus himself, I fail to see how you're not supporting Wiley in getting other Faunus the rights they deserve!! Sure she may be going about it the wrong way, but I'd at least expect you to understand her point of view!"

"I- Don't bring that up!" Reg yelled back, punching the wall in the same way Wiley had earlier. "I... I can't be around you right now, I need to clear my head... I'll see you at school tomorrow."

He stormed off, leaving team TIAL in tense silence. Tristan finally let out a breath, a small fraction of the tension in his shoulders releasing. He turned to Lilac and Arun, smiling sadly. "I'm sorry you two had to see that. Are you okay?"

"I... Yeah," Lilac answered. Arun gave a sad nod, his tail flicking anxiously back and forth. Minnie hopped onto Lilac's shoulder, nudging at her jaw, a gesture that was trying to say "it's okay, Lil."

"Why don't we go get something to eat and hang out in a park or something? I'll pay," Tristan offered. "Unless you just want to go back to school."

"No, that sounds nice," Arun agreed. He offered a small smile, patting his stomach. "That whole thing made me kind of hungry."

* * *

Kazh traced Wiley for as far as four blocks before he resorted to his semblance for help. He summoned two foxes and sent them in two different directions while he went in a third, calling them back every so often. Eventually, after almost an hour and a half of searching, he found her sitting in an open courtyard on the lip of a fountain, resting her jaw on her hand.

"Wiley," he called, hoping off of his bike. He brushed his hand through the two tails on his back, and the foxes disappeared as he walked towards her.

"What. Come to chew me out like Reggie? If you wanna pick a fight, you're not welcome here," Wiley huffed. She couldn't find the energy in her to fight him- not after the fight with Reg. 

Kazh shook his head, sitting down next to her. "I came to talk."

"Don't try to dissuade me from quitting," Wiley shot at him, blowing a stand of hair out of her face. 

Kazh shrugged, leaning forward on his knees. "I suppose I can't, people do what they need to when they want to fix something, right?"

"Yeah," Wiley agreed solemnly. She let out an aggravated sigh, burying her face in her hands. "What Reg said, he's not wrong. About the atrocities thing. The White Fang, since it changed leadership, has done some pretty crap things to get to where we are. We've mugged Schnee Dust shipments, held hostages, rioted- all the things social rights workers _shouldn't_ be doing."

"Do you think it's okay?" Kazh asked, leaning forward. Wiley raised her head with another intake of breath, crossing her fingers above her mouth and nose. 

"No. It's horrible. The old White Fang, when we peacefully protested, was better. Those days were better."

"Is there a way to go back, I wonder..." Kazh mused, looking up at the sky. 

Wiley nodded, closing her eyes. "Same. I want to change it- that's the biggest reason I've stayed. In the White Fang, I mean. I came to Beacon to build good relations with humans and other Faunus who could help me maybe fix it, but a bang-up job I've been doing, with Reg and all."

Kazh chuckled, earning a weak punch to the shoulder. He swatted her hand away, and leaned forward on his knees again. "You've been doing great with Arun and Neta though. Isaiah too. And how about team ORNJ, yeah? You're close with Jasper."

Wiley waved her hand. "I guess. But if I wasn't so abrasive... I wish I could change my personality, it's how I guard myself against racism, by shutting the world out. I don't really open up to people."

"Hah, I can tell," Kazh snorted, earning an annoyed look. Wiley cracked a smirk and muttered, "shut up," before looking away again.

"Sometimes I want to hide my ears, even though they're my favorite part of myself. I love being a Faunus. But I hate the racism and discrimination that comes with it. It's like the whole whites-versus-blacks thing with you humans. You're basically the same, why fight over who's better because of skin...? I don't get it," Wiley said. Kazh gave another snort, nodding in agreement with her. 

"I get what you mean, I don't understand the whole humans-versus-Faunus thing... I mean, it's easier to just give Faunus rights than to fight every step of the way, right?"

"Right." Wiley nodded. "And the fact that some Faunus are forced into hiding because of these kinds of problems... This is really a messed up world. And that's why I want to being the old White Fang back, because then people would give us recognition, but less out of fear."

Kazh made a noise of agreement, and they sat in silence for a while. Wiley seemed to be cooling down, and opening up to him. That was good. Maybe he should open up a bit too.

"Here, I wanna show you something." Kazh finally said.

"If it's what's under the hat, I'm gonna assume it's serious," Wiley said jokingly. Kazh faltered, his hands hesitating. She caught the twitch if something under the brown cloth of his hat, and tensed herself.

"It, uh, kind of is," Kazh replied. He reached for the bill, but before pulling it away said, "But you can't tell anyone, okay? Not even Reg and Neta. I know it's bad to keep secrets from the team, but this is really important to me."

"I understand," Wiley gulped. Kazh nodded, and started taking off the hat. Next to come off were the bandages across his cheeks. "There. Big secret's out."

Protruding from the top of Kazh's head were a pair of furry dark blue fox ears, the tips pure white while the insides were a dark black. His right ear had a silver stud that stood out against the dark fur, glinting in the sun. Under the bandages were a pair of blue, crescent shaped markings, two on each cheek.

"You're a Faunus," Wiley whispered.

Kazh gave another nod, grinning nervously. "See? Sometimes it's easier to hide things. I admire what you're trying to do, Wiley, and that you're able to wear your ears so proudly. But with the way the White Fang is going, you may want to keep it on the down-low that you're part of it- Especially considering that Reg isn't the only person who'd react like that."

He put his hat and bandages back on while Wiley mulled it over. Kazh shook his head and stood, offering her a hand. She didn't take it, but also stood up and dusted herself off. "So what are you gonna do?"

"I'll... I'll look into other originations, but I'm going to keep going to the White Fang meetings. They don't hold them often, but I'll tell you the things that happen and we can decide what to do from there. Though I won't... I won't participate in the riots or anything anymore. I've been good about it for a little while, but I'll stop cold turkey starting from today," Wiley told him. 

Kazh nodded his approval, his mouth pressed in a thin line. "At some point... I hope you're able to change something. Good luck, Wiley."

"Thanks, Kazh. I hope I can change it too," Wiley smiled. She punched her hand. "Maybe I'll make my own organization. Wiley's Freedom Fighters, yeah. Gonna get them Faunus Rights!"

Kazh laughed while he pulled out his Scroll. "I'll be the first one to join! Hey, I'm gonna give Arun a call, just to tell him I found you, is that okay?"

"Yeah, fine," Wiley answered. "Let me talk to him afterwards, I need to apologize for blowing him off today."

"Haha, sure thing girl," Kazh smiled down at her, bringing his Scroll up to his ear. After one ring, Tristan picked up, coughing into the mic. "H-hold up."

There was some white noise, then a shuffle as Arun was given the Scroll. "Hello?"

"Is everyone okay?" Kazh asked, giving Wiley a look. She shrugged.

"Yeah, we were eating in pretty much dead silence, but my ringer went off and Tristan was so startled he choked," Arun explained. "We're just finishing up lunch. How are you?"

"I'm fine. I found Wiley," Kazh said, pulling his Scroll away from his ear at Arjan's overexcited "Really?!"

"Oh, thank Dust!" He exclaimed, his voice lowering. "I was so worried. Is she okay? Wiley?"

"Here, just talk to her," Kazh grinned, handing the Scroll to Wiley. She smiled into the mic, putting hand on her hip as she looked up. 

"Y'ello."

"Wiley! Oh thank goodness, I was so worried. Are you okay?" He gushed. She heard Lilac chuckling in the background while Tristan playfully ang, "Arun's got a crush~"

"I'm fine, Arun. Just wanted to check in, tell you sorry for running off," Wiley said calmly. She heard Arun shaking his head. 

"Don't worry about it, nobody was expecting that. Just, um, just don't get into too much trouble, okay?" He told her with a worried tone.

"Yeah, got it." Wiley clicked her tongue. "I'm a good girl, I'll be fine."

Arun laughed. "You? Good? That's not the Wiley I know!"

They shared another shout bout of laughter. Wiley finally caught her breath, saying, "Okay, I gotta go. I'm gonna hand you back to Kazh."

"Hey, yeah. See ya tomorrow, Wiley," Arun said, his voice full of relief and happiness. Wiley passed the phone to Kazh, who was surprised when Tristan answered.

"Gotta tell you Kazh, if your teammate and my teammate hook up, there will be rules, and I will protect Arun from heartbreak. He's like a brother to me, you know?" Tristan smirked as Arun wailed his name. He continued, "But on a more serious note, Reg ran off. Said he had to clear his head."

"He what-" Kazh muttered, eyes flying wide. "How long ago?"

"Just after Wiley. I tried to call you but the docks have really crappy reception, you know?" Tristan mused. "He talked about heading back to Beacon, but I don't think that's where he went. That's not really his thing."

"Yeah, he doesn't sound like the type to run back to school when upset. Any idea where he could be?" Kazh asked, picking up Kona and getting on. He motioned for Wiley to sit on the back, holding his bike steady when she jumped on.

"Check in outskirts and places like that, maybe the mall since it's been over an hour." Kazh could hear Tristan scratching his head. "Hey, uh, if Wiley uses that sharp nose of hers, tell her to be on the look-out for something birdlike. I don't know if you know, but Reg is half-Faunus. He usually hides it by wearing cologne, but he forgot to put it on before we left. Bird is the word. Er, smell."

"No wonder he always puts on so much... Right, got it," Kazh agreed. "Thanks, Tristan. I'll call when we find him."

They said their goodbyes and Kazh hung up, immediately morphing Kona into her hovercraft form and taking off. He summoned a pair of foxes, doing his best to not hit Wiley with the tails.

"Did you hear what Tristan said?" He called to her. She nodded. 

"Bird smells. Right."

"Yeah. Reg is half-Faunus... I never would have guessed," Kazh muttered.

"Aren't bird Faunus super rare though? I suppose that's why he's so high-and-mighty," Wiley joked, grinning. Kazh sent her a small smile, while the two of them sniffed the air. Kazh's foxes ran off in two different directions, and he summoned a third to cover even more distance. They cleared half of Vale in ten minutes, Kazh's third fox coming back with the most conclusive data.

Wiley took one sniff of the black substance on the fox's fur and gagged. "That reeks! Engine fluid, oil, gas- What's Reggie doing around cars!"

"You caught his scent?" Kazh asked, running a hand down his fox's back and sniffing. He reeled back, pulling Kona to a stop. "Yup, that's him alright. Engine fluid, tea, the tiniest hint of bird, and whatever laundry detergent the school offers. An exquisite note, comparable to Chanel No. 5."

Wiley barked a laugh, tugging her hair back into a sort of bun-ponytail mix with her hair band. "If we're gonna keep riding, I'm gonna make sure I don't get an amateur haircut. Get your fox to lead us to that smell, let's find us a Bird Boy."

* * *

Reg took long strides to get away from the docks, simmering in his own anger. The nerve of his brother...! How dare Tristan even...

Reg was angry enough he could barely complete his thoughts. He strode quickly, keeping towards the shadier edges of town without even realizing- as long as he was away from people he was fine.

The roar of engines caught his ears, making him twitch unconsciously. He straightened, looking around to find the source of the noise, more rising to meet him.

He was still near the docs, but closer to being inland than anything. He was on an empty street, lined with warehouses on one side, and other types of storage buildings on the other side. Past the warehouses, down about three buildings, was a large dumpster, and behind that, a wall extending farther down the alley. It was short and had a fence sticking out of the top of it, topped with barbed wire.

Reg headed in the direction of the fence, looking out over a vast reservoir. There were three chambers, surrounded by channels on each side, stretching down far below him. Water had pooled in puddles around the area, staining the floor with algae and moss, reflecting the grey sky and the graffiti on the walls.

In the dryer parts, there were fresh tire tracks, probably from whatever made the noise Reg heard earlier. He stared out over the area again, and saw an empty lot not far beyond the reservoir- what he could see of it was crowded with thug-like people and their (probably modded) cars and motorcycles. The area he was standing on was high up, allowing him to see just barely into the lot. And just barely see the motorcycles rounding the farthest tank of water.

The tanks were set up in a triangle formation, with two tanks close to him and the last closer to the lot, between the others. They were each surrounded by the channels, providing spaces big enough for a cement truck to fit through- that was where the race was going down.

Reg didn't need super sensitive hearing to hear the mixed boos and cheers from the lot. He could hear engines revving, only one of them getting louder a split second later. Another second after that, one racer was already rousing the bend towards him, coming down between the two tanks and circling the one to his left.

The racer in the lead was on a magenta-pink motorcycle, with a matching helmet. She had a black leather jacket, half cut over a cheetah-print shirt, her umber hair flowing wildly behind her. She had leather pants and calf-high combat boots with cheetah print on the toes. Her clothing violated at least six of the clothing regulations for cyclists, but at the speed she was going, she obviously didn't _care_ about rules.

 _She'd be perfect for Net,_ Reg thought to himself, cracking a smirk at his own joke. He watched her circle a figure eight around the second tank, slowing down for a second to glance up at him. He could couldn't see her face, but the little wave with a shoulder shrug indicated a wink.

She sped by again, leaving Reg wondering just who she was. Another few racers passed after that, the woman in front just slightly ahead but not even enough to catch up to the woman on the magenta bike.

Okay, either she was cheating or her motorcycle modifications were just really, _really_ good.

The last of the racers passed by him just as another round of cheers rose from the lot. Reg heard the noise of the engines quiet slowly, and stared out over the reservoir. A light breeze rain through his hair and cooled his heated skin, making him sigh contentedly. It was a good idea to take a break from his brother and Kazh.

A blue light zipped across the reservoir, making Reg hiss. Speaking of Kazh... His dumb fox stared up at Reg, blinking almost innocently. Reg growled at it, muttering, "What are you doing here, mutt? Get out of my face."

He quickly escaped the premise, walking off towards the interior of the city, towards the mall. The farther away from Kazh he was, the better.

Reg didn't waste any time getting to the mall and dodging into one if the stores, glancing around as soon as he was sure he hadn't been followed. The store was totally fancy, with multiple glass chandeliers hanging from the ceiling, sparking like champaign in a ballroom. The walls were gold and tan, making everything seem new money and like a rich party scene. Racks and racks of expensive ball gowns, suits, dress shirts, and ties lined every wall, leaving the center open for a line of carpet. On other side, there were four outfits on display.Reg thought he could do a miniature fashion show here if he had the time and people.

This was totally his kind of place, too. When he was feeling down, going into stores and looking at things just made him feel better. He didn't mean to window shop, but sometimes nothing caught his eye. Just looking around was nice.

Reg gravitated towards the shirts first, skimming through some of the darker colored ones. He pulled two off the rack, one a dark burgundy color and the other a slightly darker purple, and held them against himself as he looked in the mirror. He eventually put the red shirt back, then moved on to the ties.

He was so caught up in his own affairs that he didn't notice when someone waltzed up behind him until he bumped into her.

"Excuse me-" he started, looking up to see a familiar leather jacket and blonde hair. The black tips and strange white streaks were unmistakable. "... Ma'am."

"Pardon me," Giselle answered, smiling sweetly. She knelt and reached for one of the accessories she'd dropped, giving Reg another soft look when he bent over to help her. "I didn't notice you there, sweetie, I'm sorry."

"Don't apologize, I should have been more attentive to a talented woman such as you," Reg countered, handing her back the scarf she'd dropped. It was a dark blue, with black textiles and silver sequins, a perfect match to one of the ties Reg had been looking at.

Giselle's eyes flickered up again, her lashes hiding her slit pupils. She gave a small chuckle as she stood, keeping a hand over her mouth. "Ah, you saw me racing, right? You were watching from behind the fence weren't you."

"She's found me out, whatever shall I do?" Reg mocked, smirking. Giselle laughed again, turning back towards the racks of evening gowns. Her hand ghosted over a yellow one, and she pulled it out, holding it up. 

"How would this look on me?"

The dress had one sleeve, and flared out just below her hips, coming down over her feet. The top was decorated lightly with sequins and small gems, making it sparkle slightly. Reg mulled it over, then nodded.

"Very beautiful. Though I think you wouldn't want to wear a dark colored accessory with this. Something like pearls or gold would be much nicer," Reg answered, nodding. He skimmed over the dresses again, then pulled out a magenta pink dress with long sleeves and a deep V-neck.

Giselle stared at the dress, held it up to herself, and lowered her eyelashes disappointedly. "Well, definitely not my type of style..."

"Maybe no sleeves then?" Reg asked, almost stumbling over himself to get on her good side. 

Giselle's smile returned, she loved how desperate the boy was for her approval. "Maybe you do know a thing or two about women's clothing, I was almost embarrassed."

"I have four sisters," Reg lied, then grimaced at the thought of Tristan and their older brother, Archie. Those two together in a shopping mall were basically the fashion police, especially Archie who dabbled in sewing in his free time. "But the oldest one isn't into all this fashion stuff. I hang out with her a lot."

"I suppose that explains some of it," Giselle chirped. She played innocent and didn't call his lies, even though she could practically smell them a mile away.

The same way she could smell the scent of a fox near the front door, but she wasn't about to mention that the one from the track was almost identical to the one outside.

She went back to picking dresses and pulled out two more, both to specifically match Reg's shirt. She then moved to the tie rack and grabbed a tie in the same color as the dresses, and a grey dress shirt from the rack next to it. She laid the tie on top of the shirt between the dresses, then looked to Reg expectantly.

"So which dress is better? I'm very attracted to this one-" Giselle batted her lashes as she swept her hand over the dress to the left, a strapless cocktail dress with an open back and a tight skirt. "It has plenty of room for accessories."

The way she enunciated 'accessories' made Reg think she was talking about people less than objects. He shuddered slightly and questioned why he started talking to her in the first place?

"Well?" She mused, clearly starting to get antsy. Reg nodded quickly and said, "It matches the tie well, but I think this one would look better on you."

Giselle looked at the second dress, a halter top with a slit up the side, the thin skirt would probably billow around her legs. She thought for a moment, then placed one of her accessories against the top of the dress. 

"A pin for this would be lovely, don't you think?"

"I agree," Reg answered, staring at how the greys and purples matched exquisitely. "You have very good taste."

"Why thank you," Giselle sent him another stunning smile, placing the cocktail dress back on the rack. "You're not so bad yourself."

"I do my best to impress." Reg nodded, gathering the grey shirt. He replaced the purple tie and went for the blue-and-silver one, matching Giselle's scarf.

"Oh, but why did you put that back?" Giselle pouted, tapping her toe. Reg shrugged, quickly answering, "I think the blue goes better with the grey, see? And that scarf goes well with the dress too."

"Oh. The tie and the scarf match well!" Giselle noted, her tone a half-hearted attempt at being optimistic. She looked at the dress again, the pulled out the same cocktail dress from earlier in a grey color to match Reg's shirt. "There. That's better."

"I suppose," Reg eventually conceded, smiling. He started to reach for the original shirt he'd grabbed in purple.

Giselle's hand shot out, gripping his wrist. She pouted at him, bending at the knee so she could look up at him. "Why are you putting the grey shirt back? After all the effort I put in to find something that matched?"

"Uh, well I-" Reg started, biting his lip. Giselle stared at him expectantly, eyes big and doey, her lips pursed in a pout. "Um..."

"Oh, don't tell me- There's someone else, isn't there!" Giselle exclaimed, puffing out her cheeks playfully. "You two are going out tonight or something together, huh."

"Excuse me? That's not it!" Reg defended, putting the purple shirt back on the rack. "No, it's just... I initially only came for a shirt and tie I could wear every day... That kind of thing."

"Oh," Giselle's eyes brightened. "You're a Hunter? From Beacon?"

"Yes. How could you tell?" Reg asked, taken aback by her sudden change in interest. Giselle smiled, holing up a graceful, calloused hand.

"I have a nose for these things," she said, which wasn't exactly a lie. "Sometimes you just know, you know?"

"Not really," Reg mumbled, glancing at the blue tie. Since his usual outfit was white, grey and blue would still go nicely with it.

"Hm... Maybe I'm just gifted~" Giselle sing-songed. She dragged him up towards the register, placing the scarf, the dress, and a necklace on the counter. 

"And these two please!" She chirped, taking Reg's items right out of his hands.

Giselle loaded Reg's shirt and tie on top of her stuff, smiling at the cashier. "We match well, don't we? My _friend_ and I."

Reg felt himself blush a bit at how she said 'friend,' and glanced away. As Giselle handed over some cash to pay, she suddenly tapped her face with both hands, yelping, "I don't seem to have enough... Can you help me out, dear?"

 _Not enough?_ , Reg thought, reaching into his back pocket for his scroll. _How much is she trying to pony up from me?_

It was the dress. She paid for everything but the dress.

Reg sighed, passing over his scroll to cover the rest of the purchase. It was quite a pricey dress, more than twice the price of his shirt- he didn't really understand, but he hoped his parents wouldn't get on his case about it. Besides the fact that the dress cost more than all of Giselle's purchase, but still. The man at the register smiled, taking the clothes and folding them in two separate bags. "Here. Thank you for shopping with us today~"

"Any time, dear!" Giselle beamed. She took her bag and handed Reg his, leading him outside of the shop. The two waltzed down the block, Giselle slipping her arm into Reg's; An awkward gesture, considering she was almost six inches taller than him.

They arrived at her motorcycle, the back loaded with three other bags, lightly tied down to the passenger seat. She quickly adjusted the bags to make room for her new one, then pulled her helmet off one of the handle bars.

"This motorcycle is yours?" Reg questioned, though he already knew. Giselle grinned at him, carefully swinging her foot across the seat so she didn't hit he bags. 

"Yeah, baby! This sweet ride is my pride and joy."

She turned the key and revved the engine. The two cars on either side of her exploded with noise, their car alarms making a woman nearby yelp with surprise and her baby start crying.

"Aren't those engines a little loud?" Reg yelled over the noise, covering his ears. Giselle rolled her eyes, snickering, "Not nearly loud enough!"

"I got this bike modded already, from one of my racer friends." She continued after one of the two alarms quieted; the owner of the car had run outside from- presumably- work, and hushed her car before it could cause more trouble. She glared at Reg, earning a slight shrug. Giselle leaned forward slightly, bringing Reg's attention back to her by patting the tank. "The person I got it from... His winning streak was twenty to none- this bike was fast beyond fast. The team though, were a little too liberal with their rules interpretations."

At Reg's confused look, she simply sat up and stated, "They cheated."

"Oh."

"It was easier to just build a new bike than to fix this one, so he called me up, arranged the deal, and bam! I got a free bike, and a meal too!" She leaned over the front of her motorcycle again, batting her lashes at Reg. "He even had his team repaint it. The color matches my eyes, see?"

Reg met her eyes, quickly looking away before he could be caught staring to intently. He coughed into his hand, then made a motion to her motorcycle again. "Well, this is indeed a 'sick' ride; I understand why you win so many races now."

"Oh, that? That's a whole other reason entirely, but this baby helps." Giselle grinned, patting the tank again. She sat back up, flipping her hair over her shoulder with a quick flick of her head. "Anyway, I have to be off- I was supposed to meet a friend over an hour ago, but I just lo~ve to make him wait! He should be getting feisty right about now..."

"Ah, right, don't want to hold you," Reg mumbled, ignoring the feeling in his gut that said _this chick was bad news._ He quickly turned back to her, saying, "Wait. Before you go, I never got your name."

"It's Reina." Giselle lied. "Giselle Reina. Yours?"

"My name is Reginald Alexander Massalla III," Reg said, with an extravagant bow. "I am the Prince of the fair island of Reol, the Archduke- and how I got that title is a long story- of Bacer, and a few other things including the Duke of a country or two. But if you don't want to say all that, you can just call me-"

"How about Alex? That's a cute name. You look like an Alex," Giselle cut him off, pinching at his cheek. 

Reg held back a yelp, sending her a slightly aggravated look. "I don't really like that-"

"Then Al? Come on, it's so much easier to say," Giselle pouted, puffing out her lips. "Come on..."

"I- Okay." Reg agreed- after all, she did just but him a shirt and tie.

"Well, darling Alex, I must go- We should meet up again some time, yeah?" Giselle leaned over and pecked at his cheek, slipping a small piece of paper into his collar. She pulled back, making a phone with her thumb and pinky finger. "Call me."

With that, she pressed her visor down, revved her engines (setting off the two alarms _again_ ) and rode off down the streets. Reg blinked suddenly, and she was gone, the only thing left being the smoke from her wheels, the paper in his collar, and her Chapstick against his cheek.

* * *

It was already past curfew when Wiely and Kazh finally returned to Beacon. Kazh's ears and face were freezing, his nose and cheeks bright red. One of his bandages had blown off, leaving him to cover it with his hood and hair. Wiley's hair was a mess, tangled and knotted so hard that cutting it may have been the only way to free her. She was shivering, wishing that she'd opted to bring more than just a shirt and a heavy vest that covered her chest.

The two had to ride to Beacon, since they missed the last shuttle, and were greeted personally by Professor Priest.

"Where have you two been?" She demanded, pointing at the ground like she wanted to look serious. The tiny teacher really wasn't that intimidating- Kazh and Wiley shared a look explaining that.

"We missed the last shuttle," Kazh said, doing his best to stop his teeth from chattering. "We had to ride back on my bicycle."

"You know there's a line just for this, right?" Priest asked, pulling out her scroll. She showed Wiley the number, basically pressing the phone against her student's nose. "It's in the handbook, have you read the handbook?"

"Um," Wiley answered. "We haven't gotten our handbooks?"

"They were given to us three weeks ago though," Kazh whispered. Wiley smacked him in the arm with the back of her hand, hissing, "Shut up, Kazh."

Priest sighed, placing her scroll back into her front pocket. She rubbed at her temples, turning away from the two. "I can't believe this. I know you two are young adults but while you're still in school, and there are rules to follow. Please read your handbooks. As a future Hunter and Huntress, you two should be aware of schedules, and especially know to remember the small details. I want you to save the number to your scroll tonight, alright?"

"Yes ma'am," Wiley and Kazh answered. Priest nodded, content with that, and gave a soft look to Wiley. 

"Sorry to chew you out like that, Miss O'Syrah. Rules are rules, is all. I'll keep this on the down low since it's your first big school felony-" she waved her hands and made a circle with her head, like she was reenacting an explosion of sorts. "But I won't tell Ozpind about this, just this once. I'll see you in class on Monday, right?"

"Of course," Wiley smiled, thankful to be out of serious trouble. Kazh smiled at her, slapping low-fives lightly. Wiley's smile dropped a bit, and she quickly asked, "Hey, I have an idea for a weapon modification, I was wondering if you'd help me out? That... Mixed explosion from last week really inspired me."

"Oh, that? That was nothing. See me after school on Monday and I'll show you what wind and mercury can _really_ do." Priest smiled a terrifying smile, sending a shiver up Wiley's spine that even Kazh could feel. 

"Um, yes, right- Cool stuff. See you on Monday, Professor."

"Right! Of to your dorms with you! Good night, you two!" Priest's usual sweet demeanor came back as she waved them off. 

Kazh and Wiley quickly rushed back to their dorms, moving quietly as to not be caught by Glynda or any other teacher patrolling the halls. They made it back with no trouble at all, making Kazh wonder if there was some sort of setup waiting back at their room.

There wasn't. Only Neta studying at the desk (he kept picking up his phone and texting, probably exchanging notes with Isaiah or another friend of his), and Reg sitting in the middle of the floor, polishing and oiling Motio Glaive.

"We're home~" Kazh called, sing-songy, but laced with tension. Wiley immediately went silent, rushing to her bed to gather her pajamas. Neta waved them in, briefly turning away from his studies to Kazh.

"Dude, I thought you were gonna be back around five. I had to practice with Tristan, do you even _know_ how bad at hand-to-hand he is?" Neta asked. Kazh shrugged, picking up Kona and carting the bicycle across the room to the hangers above his bed.

"Some things came up," Kazh said, hopping off the small bed. "And I'd rather not talk about them, sorry, Neta."

He gathered a pair of square bandages from a box under his bead, the size of his shoes, and replaced the one on his face. He covered the marks on the other side, finally taking off his jacket and shoes.

"But bae~" Neta whined, turning back to his studies when his scroll buzzed against the table. Kazh shrugged in apology, then turned to Reg. He came and sat down next to him, leaning forward on his knees.

"We need to talk," Kazh stated.

"You have thin arms," Reg noted absently, not looking up from his blade.

"Thank you. But that isn't the point," Kazh responded, equally flippant. "Reginald."

That caught the boy's attention. Red eyes flickered up to stare at Kazh, while both Neta and Wiley turned away from what they were doing to stare. Kazh had a serious look on his face, eyes open though narrowed. "Talk. Now."

"About what," Reg answered, putting down his sword.

"Your attitude today," Kazh huffed, leaning back slightly. "And how you treated both Wiley and Arun. I know I'm not-"

"Yes, you aren't, " Reg snapped, his shoulders tensing. "You're not my father, and you're not my teacher. You shouldn't be saying anything."

"I'm your team leader, Reg. I don't want to go to a teacher for this- I want us to work this out as a _team._ You get me?" Kazh explained.

"I should have been leader."

"What?"

"I should have been-"

"No, you shouldn't have!" Wiley cut him off. She was standing, her pajamas clenched tightly in one hand, the other balled into a fist. She was positively fuming, her ruffled hair and pushed-back ears didn't help her seem any less intimidating. Not that she wanted to be. "With the way you're acting now, the way you disrespected Kazh and Tristan, how you've insulted both Arun and I simply for being Faunus- You don't deserve to be a team leader. You're childish. You're racist. You're greedy and you don't care about others. You're- You're-! You're aggravating and I hate you!"

"Wiley!" Kazh yelped, standing. His immediate reaction was to calm the situation, stop her before she went and did something stupid. He tried to follow her when she ran to the door, slamming it closed on her way out. He ducked his head out into the hallway, calling after her. "Wiley!"

Some of the other students on the floor peeked their heads out of the door. Two students across the hall whispered to each other and giggled, before sucking inside their dorm again. Another student glanced at Kazh, then shook his head. The students in the dorm next door all came to glare at him, until he quietly closed the door.

Kazh slumped against it, burying his face in his hands. He could hear Reg tinkering with the chain mechanism of Motio Glaive, and gave a heavy sigh. He felt Neta come to sit next to him.

"Kazh?"

"Please don't talk to me."

"She'll be back tonight."

"If at all," Kazh remarked, not daring to look at Reg. The boy didn't say anything, making Kazh think that he at lease knew enough to _shut up_ in a situation like this. "I can't believe this. I absolutely cannot believe this."

"Dude, we'll work it out-" Neta tried, earning an aggravated half-scream, half-groan.

"With the way this is going, one of the two is going to be kicked off the team. I bet Ozpind is going to get involved somehow. This is ridiculous. My god this is ridiculousm" Kazh muttered. Neta would have looked to Reg for help, but after the way Wiley had yelled at him earlier, Neta wasn't sure if he wanted to start a conversation.

"I'll stop studying for the night- Why don't we get some sleep? Sounds like a good idea, right?" Neta asked, nudging Kazh's shoulder lightly. The biker nodded back, standing. He didn't even spare Reg a brief glare. 

"Yeah, good idea. Yes. I'll see you guys in the morning."

Kazh wandered to his bed and flopped down face first, without even bothering to change. He quickly adjusted his hat, then stopped moving, falling asleep on top of the blankets instead of under them. Neta quickly cleaned up his books and such, texting with his hands full as he put his stuff away. He closed the window slightly, biting his lip before saying, "Put your stuff away soon, okay Reg?" to his teammate. He crawled into bed, turning to face the wall.

"Putting it away now," Reg responded, locking the last component of his rapier in place. He pulled one of the triggers by the guard, his arm jerking slightly as Motio Glaive shifted to it's shotgun form. He shifted it back to a blade, then sheathed the weapon, leaning it against the desk. After putting away the rest of his polishing materials and tools, Reg placed them in one of the drawers at the desk, and turned out the light.

* * *

Both Nero and Reg were quietly asleep when Wiley returned, but Kazh wasn't. He was still up, eyes open and searching the wall for any clue about what he should do next. Was leaving Reg on the team good for cohesion? Should he keep Reg, because maybe he could change his bitter attitude? Or maybe because nobody else would?

Kazh heard Wiley flop against her bed, the impact shaking the wall. Wind whipped around her lightly, dispersing around the room in a cool breeze that made Neta groan in his sleep. Kazh could hear Wiley sniffling quietly, and bit his lip in frustration. This was not something his team should have to go to, and this was something that he needed to talk to Ozpind about.

Worst case scenario, KRWN would be disbanded.


	9. The Haters Never Bothered Me Anyway

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so tired lol I think youcan see where I gave up this chapter... 
> 
> Anyway, I'm so sorry for not updating recently :) I've been super busy and on this really weird writer's block- probably because I'm dedicating my writing to other things (RPs, a manga, other fics, ect. haha)
> 
> Et cet-haha instead of et cetera? Lol anyway. 
> 
> Not much to say for this chapter. A lot happens, the ending is mostly useless so you don't have to read it... Um, there's a part where Tristan and Kazh are talking about baes and Tristan says "B-A-" I didn't know how to write out the pun, so it's basically read the same as bae lol You'll get it in context. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy~

Wiley didn't go to any of her classes with Reg for the next two days after the argument. She did all she could to stay out of the dorm for at least a week, even rooming with Team ORNJ at one point. The leader of that team, Olivier Umber, came to Kazh the day after Wiley had spent the night and scolded him good for that one.

"You need to make sure your teammate is alright!" Olivier had said. "She took up so much bed space you have no idea- Roland was awake on the floor all night. Talk to her- Figure out the problem and fix it!"

"I'm trying..." Kazh muttered to himself, resting his head in his hands. It had been a week and two days, and Kazh suspected Wiley had gone to Ozpind already- she had yet to come back to the dorms, and Roland still seemed to be sleep-deprived.

Wiley hadn't shown to combat class in her week of absence either, which Glynda called him out on. Kazh had said Wiley was sick, bedridden, oh boo hoo! And made a show of promising to tell her she was missed. Glynda seemed to accept that, then called down two students- twins with red hair and similar weapons- to fight the first match.

Kazh watched absently, his mind still wandering to the Reg-Wiley situation. Should he tell Ozpind? Should he tell Priest? Should he tell _Glynda_  of all people?

"Kazh!" Tristan exclaimed, slapping Kazh in the back in a gesture of goodwill. Kazh coughed, holding his hat (and ears) down. He looked at Tristan, who was grinning widely.

"Still thinking about Wiley?" Tristan asked.

"Yeah... Hard not to," Kazh muttered, curling up even more in his seat. 

Tristan gave him a sly grin, saying, "Oh, I see how it is. The dating thing, right? Have your first fight yet?"

"Tristan, you know that isn't it," Kazh griped, turning to stare at his fellow leader. 

"I know, I know, I'm just trying to lighten the mood a little bit. I'm sorry," Tristan offered with a softer smile. "Wanna talk about it?" 

"It's... I think she may have talked to Ozpind- Gotten some classes changed, gotten a new team," Kazh sighed, exasperated.

"What? No way, she wouldn't have done that," Tristan said, now serious.

"Has Reg talked to you at all about the fighting?" Kazh asked.

"Him? No. Since the day at the docs, he hasn't talked to me. Have they fought more...?" Tristan trailed off, his eyes full of worry.

"Mmhmm," Kazh hummed in response, scratching his head. "I don't know what to do anymore. I mean-"

Suddenly, the door flew open. The fighting on the floor stopped, everyone turned to look at Wiley. She was already changed, her gloves at the ready.

"Miss O'Syrah," Glynda said, surprised, and looked up to her. "You're late."

"Sorry. Wasn't feelin' good. But I'm here now," She replied. She immediately went to sit with Jasper and Olivier, talking quietly with team ORNJ.

"See," Kazh griped.

"But there are no teams of five- Except us, Minnie is an honorary member. And she showed up to class, albeit a half hour late. I don't think she's ditched you just yet," Tristan tried to comfort him, smiling sympathetically. "Besides, what other team name could a 'W' be part of?"

Kazh wanted to retort something, but the match ended and Glynda ushered twins back to their seats. They slapped fives with each other, bashing shields as they got to the stairs, then headed back to sit with Wiley's group of cheerleaders from the second day.

"Team TIAL," Glynda called, while she was using her telekinesis to fix the stage. "Would you come to the ring please? I'd like to have a team-versus-team spar."

"Team versus team?" Tristan called back, standing. "Is there enough room?"

"It will be fine. Please pick your opponent- unless someone wants to volunteer?" Glynda turned to the students. Tristan hoped nobody would volunteer- he sent Jasper and Roland a look when they raised their hands. They instantly put them down.

"We'll fight team KRWN," Tristan announced, grinning brightly. Someone a few seats away swooned.

All of team KRWN's heads snapped up, equally horrified and confused expressions on their faces.

"Tristan, are you crazy!" Kazh whispered, tugging at his braid. "My team's cohesion is terrible right now- We'll sooner fight each other than you!"

Tristan shrugged, swatting at Kazh's hand. "Maybe a fight will get you guys to work together again?"

"That's not how it works- Tristan-!" Kazh hissed, reaching after him. The team TIAL leader winked at Kazh, then gathered his team and started whispering battle strategies to them. The rest of team KRWN stood at Kazh's aggravated command of, "Alright guys, let's move."

"Is there a problem?" Glynda asked, stepping towards the center of the ring. Wiley huffed, looking away, while Reg answered, "No, absolutely none at all."

"Good. If that's the case, please take sides- KRWN to my left, TIAL to my right," Glynda instructed. TIAL set up easily, allowing Arun and Lilac to stand side-by-side in front. Staggered between them was Isaiah, her boleros hanging off her fingers, and slightly to Isaiah's right, still behind her, was Tristan, checking his guns one at a time.

One of the twins from earlier whistled when Tristan struck a pose, like he was loading the guns.

Kazh hefted Kona over his shoulder and puffed a strand of hair out of his face. He turned to his team, observing how Wiley, their fastest, was farthest back, and how Reg was nearest to the edge of the ring on the same plane as Wiley. He turned to Neta, shrugged slightly, and said, "Wiley, come up to the front. I want you to act as decoy."

"I don't want to stand in front of Reg," She answered, snarky. "He'll stab me in the back again."

"I never stabbed you in the back in the first place, I merely--" Reg started indignantly, but was cut off by Glynda slapping her riding crop against the wall and bellowing, "Begin!"

Wiley and Neta rushed forward, her attack following his so brilliantly Kazh almost had hope for the team. Neta extended one spear at Lilac shoulder, aiming for Minnie and baiting her onto the staff, while Wiley hopped of his other spear stabbed into the ground, did a triple flip and kicked a blast of wind at the Grimm. Minnie flew off Neta's spear with a weak squeak, landing just barely past Arun's feet. She scrambled up and darted off, briefly drawing his attention. 

"Minnie!" Arun yelped, grunting as Kazh was suddenly on top of him, slamming his bike into the Lion's Chakram-shields. The sheer momentum of the hit was enough to send Arun flying back into Isaiah, who easily caught his waist.

"S-sorry, nice catch!" He exclaimed as she put him down. Isaiah nodded, swinging one of her Boleros up and into Lilac spear, putting even more power into the blow by making Mythical Aster heavier on the way down. Wisteria broke Neta's guard, thrusting forward and shoving him back with an extension from her semblance, where he stumbled into Reg.

"Reg, come on!" Neta grunted, pulling away. He condensed his spears and slammed them together, stringing the wire bowstring quickly. "Get back in there and take my place."

"Only because you asked," Reg muttered quietly- more of a hiss really. He revved his chainsaw and rushed in, an after-image following him as he charged at Isaiah. Following the afterimage was a pair of blue foxes and a rush of wind, but how were there foxes if Kazh had no tails yet?

 _Can he summon them without- No, don't be dumb, they're just an illusion._  Tristan thought to himself. He sprayed a widespread blast of water upwards, freezing the drops into ice shards that flew downward in a mass of glass rain. Reg's illusions immediately disappeared when they were hit, making Reg cry out in annoyance. He ducked and dodged through the storm, slashing his way through a larger portion of ice as he got closer to Tristan.

A wall of thin ice slammed into Reg, making him sprawl across the floor. Wiley landed over him, gracefully spinning on one foot and sending an arcing horizontal blast of wind back at Tristan. She bounded off again, getting in close to him- a good move on her part, his worst skill was hand to hand.

The boy could dodge though, she'd give him that.

He ducked under one of her hooks with a roll, slamming Blowtorch into her side. Wiley yipped, falling just enough to dodge one of Neta's arrows. He knocked another and fired at Tristan, calling out, "Sorry bro!" when he tore through his jacket's sleeve.

"I thought I was the bae," Tristan asked with a huff, adjusting his sleeve and rolling it up as Wiley hopped away to gather herself. Nero shrugged, eyes scanning the battlefield. Wiley was rising up behind Tristan, ready to attack.

"Not in battle, sorry man."

Wiley jumped Tristan from behind with a yelp that actually sounded happy. The two tumbled, until she had him pinned, one of his guns skidding out of his reach.

"Got you~" She sang, grinning down. Tristan huffed, a smirk on his face.

"You'd only think that," He retorted, suddenly jerking into a roll. He threw Wiley to his left, kipping up and dashing to recover his weapon. Wiley continued the roll, also kipping, and send a blast of wind at his back, making Tristan's braid fly into his face. It wrapped over his eyes almost comically, making him halt running to try and untangle himself.

"Are you serious," Neta asked, letting his bow drop slightly. "Do you need help untangling your face-"

"As much as I would enjoy that, we're not baes in battle, right?" Tristan answered with a chuckle, pulling his hair down enough so he could look over at Neta.

"That is what I said," Neta conceded with a sigh, making Wiley laugh. It was nice to see her somewhat happy.

"I thought I was the bae though," Kazh questioned, his grin finally returning as he pulled to a stop next to Lilac. Minnie jumped onto his shoulder to push him over, but Kazh merely ducked, spun in a circle, then gently handed the dizzy Grimm back to Lilac.

"We'll figure this out later- Reg! Now!" Neta called, knocking his arrow again.

Reg sent both him and Wiley a glare and said, "Now, what?"

"What- Dude, improvise-- Watch out!" Neta yelped, firing his arrow at Isaiah's bolero before she brought it down on Reg's back. She pressed a few buttons making the guns in the corner fire, then raised the gravity when it was jerked back above Reg's back. He turned out of the way, slashing the recoiling arrow in half before it hit him.

"Crap!" The three hissed in unison, while Isaiah swung again at Reg. He deflected one Bolero, just narrowly dodging the other. Isaiah brought her knee up, slamming it into Reg's stomach and sending him straight to the floor. She adjusted her glasses with her free hand and hopped over him, rushing Neta with her weapons behind her. Neta grit his teeth as Isaiah gripped Law's cube and punched with it, a move Jasper had used with his ball and chain, breaking his bow in half. Neta backed up spinning one dagger in each hand, then slipped one blade into it's holster, spinning his remaining Parablade as it extended to a Paraspear. With his other hand he went for an arrow, slashing at Isaiah with his spear when she was close enough to him. She bent in half backward, taking a knee and swinging one of the boleros up at Neta as she slid, guns firing to make the bolero zip around and confuse him. He blocked with his spear, also taking a knee and grunting when she used the same bolero to punch at him- she was ultimately blocked again but she still succeeded in pushing him over. As soon as he was there, he was up again, spear in hand as he rushed to deal with Lilac. Isaiah tried to stand, her arm jerking.

Her first thought was to lessen the gravity on her Bolero, but it wasn't that- she wasn't even using her semblance. Isaiah glanced down, and found herself grinning. How did she not notice Neta stabbing his arrow into the link between the cube and string to pin the weapon to the floor? He was definitely branching out.

Isaiah took a moment to untangle her Bolero, Lilac accompanying her and helping her out. The two girls took a moment to survey the battle, then turned to each other.

"Their cohesion is really bad," Lilac observed, scratching Minnie's jaw. "Minnie's off her game because of all the negativity. Too much more and she won't settle down around them."

"You mean Reginald and Wiley," Isaiah stated more than asked. Lilac gave her a shallow nod in agreement. Isaiah looked to Minnie, reaching a hand out to give the Grimm a pet. It occurred to Isaiah that Minnie wasn't effected by negative emotions like most Grimm were- it was either that Lilac was a shining beacon of positivity, or Minnie had just grown accustomed to absorbing large amounts of negative energy at a time, and had evolved in such a way that it didn't effect her. 

Isaiah looked back out to Team KRWN. Neta was down, his own spear holding down the shoulder of his vest and shirt. Wiley was locked in an intense hand-to-hand spar with Arun, while Kazh and Tristan duked it out on their own. Reg was nowhere to be seen, something that worried Isaiah.

As if responding to her worry, A trio of Reg's appeared around Isaiah and Lilac, surrounding them. A fourth Reg appeared and flicked his sword, leveling it at Lilac chest.

"You're history," they all muttered in unison.

"Isaiah, duck!" Lilac yelled, dragging her teammate to the ground. Isaiah swung one of her Boleros out, knocking one of the Reg's off his feet. Lilac swung her spear in the same motion, making one Reg disappear completely. Merely an illusion. So was the one Isaiah hit the real one?

Another duo of Reg's suddenly crashed down from the sky, swords poised to stab at the girls. They both jumped out of the way, matching each other's rolls like one would match a mirror. Isaiah smiled at the coordination between herself and her friend.

With three more expertly timed swings, she took out two more Reg's, heading for the two in the center. As she got close, one brought his sword down on her, while she swung her bolero up and knocked the weapon out of the way. His sword went flying, where Lilac redirected the hit and sent the sword spiraling into another Reg. Both illusions dissipated, while Lilac shifted her weapon to it's rapier form and lunged forward to stab through the same Reg Isaiah swung her bolero at. The blade of her spear phased through both Reg's in the center of the circle. The two disappeared almost immediately.

Minnie was handling the last two Reg's, zipping between the two of them. As she hit them, more and more they seemed to flicker out of existence, until Minnie jumped, did a flip, and body slammed one of them into oblivion. She leaped at the other, using her strength to barrel through his chest and send him back to the original. Minnie rushed to Lilac's side, running up Isaiah first.

"Good job, little one," Isaiah congratulated, holding out her arm for Minnie to jump back to Lilac, who giggled. The two turned to Reg, but he was still nowhere to be seen.

"All an illusion?" Lilac asked.

"No. I hit one- I think that was was the real Reg," Isaiah responded, looking back to the spar. Reg and Wiley were now fighting Arun together- or, more accurately, fighting each other with Arun help. Wiley would strike, Arun would move, Reg would get hit. Arun would block one of Reg's attacks and redirect it to Wiley, or she would physically _use Arun_  to attack Reg for her, by grabbing his arm and moving him somehow. They were yelling at each other, things like, "Half-Faunus brat!" and, "White Fang scum!" and much more.

Arun at least seemed to be having a sort of fun, despite how stressed he looked, but it wasn't a fight that could continue- even if Wiley was also yelling apologies. 

"Kazh!" Isaiah called, running over to the leaders with Lilac. Tristan wasn't down for the count, but he was kneeling in recovery, breathing hard. Lilac immediately dove into Arun fight, freeing him from Reg with a well-timed thrust of her blade. She materialized her broadsword with her semblance swung it again again, throwing Minnie at Reg with the weapon and knocking him back a ways, where he slid along the ground on both feet. He dug Motio Glaive into the ground to stop himself, using the chainsaw to dig the weapon back out of the ground. He leveled his weapon, pausing briefly.

"We need to break them up," Isaiah said, gripping one of Kazh's upper arms. "Now."

"I- I know," Kazh gulped, resting a hand over hers until she let go. "But they won't listen to me- I can't get through to either of them."

A yelp met their ears, from Arun, who had been hit by two of Reg's clones. Minnie, zipped between the two, shoving them both back when she bounced off. The Grimm charged at Lilac, bouncing off her sword and into Reg's blade, sending him stumbling back with the force of her impact against him. Lilac dissipated her semblance and pointed her blade, then charged, clashing with Reg in a fast exchange of perries and stabs, ending with her on the other side of him. 

"And neither are stopping. What do I do, there's nothing-" Kazh stopped abruptly at Isaiah's harsh look.

"You use force. If words don't get through to them, take action."

"But I-"

"It's a last resort. They'll understand eventually. Go."

Kazh nodded and turned back to see Wiley sparring with Arun. She was baiting him for something, buying time by running circles around him and barely jumping to hit him lightly. His hair had fallen from it's band, his bangs making him close his eyes half the time. Wiley jumped at him, hitting him in the face with a light blast of cold wind, allowing him to see. Arun had just enough time to counter her punch with his bare hand and send her spiraling away and falling off the stage, wind following her and ruffling Arun's hair back into his face.

"Sorry!" He yelled after her, over the noise of his weapons combining into the chained halberd form. Lilac and Arun pressed back to back, the young lion pushing his hair back and out of his face as he watched Wiley stumble back to the stage. He gasped, watching her grunt and grip her wrist, taking a moment to compose herself.

"Wiley, I-"

"Don't start, it's just a fracture."

"I'm so sorry, I panicked, I-"

"I'll make it. It's not your fault," Wiley grunted. "Would have been avoided if _somebody_  was a little more cooperative."

Arun closed his eyes, lowering his head and halberd. Lilac met Reg in another clash when he rushed in to attack Wiley, his eyes burning with fury.

"Don't lecture me about cooperation! At least I don't cooperate with an extremist group!" Reg yelled, pressing Lilac. Arun turned to help her, a gasp falling from his lips when a pair of Minnie's slammed into his halberd and sent him falling to the floor, Sehkmet Rising flying from his hand.

"Oh, like being racist is better!" Wiley retaliated, running forward. She jumped, arcing up and over Lilac, kicking three wind spears at Reg's back. Arun, jogging back with his halberd in his hand, swung his weapon like he was throwing it. He released the blade, letting it arc around and behind Reg, then slowed the time to almost stopping. The chain of the blade halted Wiley's wind spears, the dispersed wind wiping around both Reg and Lilac.

"Wiley, Reg, please calm down!" Lilac yelled futilely, shifting her weapon to it's spear form and spinning it, adding space to it's spin to make it a shield that blocked Reg's attack. 

Wiley landed with a graceful spin, dashing forward when Reg turned to meet her. He followed suit, spinning out of Minnie's way. The Grimm slowed her momentum and jumped off Lilac, hopping up to Arun's halberd's chain and then back towards Reg. Arun retracted the chain, screaming wordlessly as the two members of KRWN went to clash--

A clang rang out, and silence fell over the auditorium. Kazh held his bike up over his shoulder, jamming Reg's blade into one wheel. There was a slit along the tire, air hissing into Reg's face and making him close his eyes. With his free hand, Kazh held Wiley's ankle, stopping her mid-kick. With a grunt, he pushed the two back, sending Reg's blade skidding across the stage to Tristan.

"Stop it, both of you!" He yelled, breathing deeply through his nose. "Please."

"Stop the match," Glynda called, stepping out onto the field. "This kind of behavior from your team is unacceptable. Mister Yule, please see me after class."

"Yes ma'am," Kazh agreed, lowering his head. Wiley spit to the side, crossing her good arm over her stomach. Glynda glared down her nose at the other student, looking between her and Reg. "Miss O'Syrah, Mister Massalla. You two as well."

After a tense moment of silence, Glynda sighed, "I feel as though it's appropriate to end class a few minutes early. Go change and go to your next classes. I'll see you all tomorrow."

The room filled with low whispers as the teams headed towards the locker room, a word or two exchanged between Jasper and Wiley. Tristan came to stand next to Kazh, shrugging his shoulders and handing back the blade as he said, "I'm sorry."

"It's fine," Kazh sighed, taking Reg's weapon. "What's done is done. You were just trying to help."

"I won't try again for a bit then, huh?" Tristan laughed anxiously. Kazh sent him a small smile.

"Unless I ask, dude. Thanks for trying."

Tristan jogged back to the locker room, meeting Arun by the door. The two entered, while Kazh turned back to Glynda.

"Team KRWN, your behavior this week has been uncharacteristically-"

"Uncooperative?" Wiley offered.

"Offensive?" Reg said at the same time, snatching back his blade when it was offered to him.

Glynda narrowed her eyes at the two. "Disorganized. You've had such good teamwork in the past, but something is clearly inhibiting that."

"I wonder what," Reg muttered to himself. Wiley's ears flattened back to her head, her fists clenching.

"Yeah, I wonder indeed, Reggie," She hissed, turning on her heel. She started to head out of the room, her shoulders squared and jaw clenched.

"Miss O'Syrah, I'm not finished talking to you!" Glynda called, irritation clear in her voice. Wiley spit to the side before she got to the stands, and kept walking without saying a word. Some students were gathering outside the locker to watch what was about to happen, as Wiley took the stairs two at a time. "Miss O'Syrah!"

"You sound like my mom. I don't need to be lectured, the one who needs help with his cohesion is Reg! Punish him, not me!" Wiley snapped, her pace picking up until she was running. Arun, who was standing near the front of the crowd, swiftly followed her- he apologized when he pushed Roland out of the way.

"Wiley, wait!" He called after her, sprinting from the room.

Glynda turned to Kazh, her eyes burning with annoyance. She typed something on her scroll, looking up when Kazh pulled his own scroll out.

"You'll need to see the headmaster about this," Glynda told him, waving her hand dismissively at Reg. "This feud has gone too far, and almost put a whole other team in a dangerous situation. I've seen you be a better leader than this, Mister Yule. Discuss ways to fix this with Ozpind."

"I've been-" Kazh bit his tongue. "Yes ma'am."

Glynda looked around, then sighed, briefly resting a hand on his shoulder. "You have the ability to fix this, Kazh. You just need to exercise it."

"I'll try," Kazh responded, still looking down. "I should go change and talk to Professor Ozpind about this. Thank you, Professor Goodwitch."

"Of course."

* * *

Arun followed Wiley from the training hall down to the school's main fountain. Lunch was just starting for most students, so the clean-cut lawns were filling up extremely quickly. Arun was thankful no one seemed to take notice of Wiley or himself, or if they did they just ignored them as they kept going on about their daily business.

"Wiley, hold on- Are you okay? You should go to the Nurse's office for your arm... Wiley, wait up!" Arun pleaded, practically running into her when she finally stopped. He took a deep breath and looked up at her, sighing when she didn't even turn to face him.

"How about we sit down for a minute?" Arun suggested. "We can figure out what to do after that."

"Alright," Wiley agreed, moving towards the edge of the fountain with Arn in tow. When she sat down, she winced and hissed, pulling her wounded arm up to her chest.

"Are you okay?!" Arun immediately asked, hands coming up in case she needed support. Wiley merely smiled wryly, using her good hand to sit down.

"Don't worry about it. I forgot it happened honestly," She told him, shrugging. "It's really not bad."

He bit his lip, looking down. "I'm sorry about your arm. I always try to hold back when I spar with my friends, but this time was... I couldn't see and then suddenly you were there and I reacted on instinct... I didn't mean to hit you that hard, I'm sorry Wiley..."

Wiley was silent for a moment, before placing her good hand comfortingly on Arun's shoulder. He looked up at her, eyes a little less than dry. She smiled at him, shaking her head.

"It's okay, Arun. I said it wasn't your fault." She looked at her hand, still throbbing with pain, her wrist bent awkwardly. "Here, wanna see something cool?"

Wiley moved her hand from his shoulder to her wrist, adjusting her arm until it laid flat on her thigh. She hovered her hand over her wrist, exhaling. Arun's eyes widened a fraction more when Wiley's hand started glowing a light lavender, the same colored Aura surrounding her wrist.

After a few seconds, she let her wrist go, opening her eyes. She flexed both hands, poking him lightly in the knee with her previously broken one. "See? All better."

"You... Healed?" Arun asked, mystified. "With your Aura?"

Wiley tossed her head back and laughed. "Well duh, that's what Auras are for! You can also use them to make shields and a couple other things. They teach you that in pre-com."

"Right..." Arun suddenly gasped, his mouth stretching into a grin. He practically leapt forward, trapping Wiley in a tight hug. "You have such good control over your Aura! That's so cool! I'm so glad you're okay, I was so worried Wiley."

"Hey! Calm down kid, I'm fine," Wiley laughed, hugging him back. Arun pulled away and wiped his eyes, smiling at her.

"I wish I could control my Aura. I tried once and only succeeded in making a weak shield... I have no control," Arun laughed weakly, sniffling.

"But you control your Semblance so well. How can you not use your Aura?" Wiley asked, leaning forward slightly. Arun shrugged.

"Idunno. Maybe I can't use my aura because I use it too much to control my semblance? It's probably because I don't practice with it enough."

"I guess the practice part makes sense," Wiley agreed. "My dad was really good with Aura. Before he kicked the bucket, he trained me to use mine. It's how I discovered my Semblance, but he wasn't around to train me in that."

There was a silence for a moment, laced with sadness and sympathy, before Wiley finished, "Not that he really could. I don't mean to sound ungrateful, but he had no idea what his semblance was or how to control it."

"He wasn't a Hunter?" Arun asked, leaning forward on his knees so he could look up at her.

Wiley shook her head. "Neither was my mom. But where I'm from- we had a High Council like thing and she was on that. She and my old man were both very diplomatic people, it was kind of suffocating."

"How?"

"It was all talk. I never got to hit."

"Um." Arun looked away. "I'd hope so, I guess..."

Wiley's eyes widened, and she exclaimed, "You think I'd wanna hit my parents? No way! I meant like walls and pillows and stuff. Not people!"

"That make so much more sense!" Arun breathed a relieved sigh. "You'll have to tell me about your hometown some time. Maybe we could go for the break at the end of the semester."

"I would, but I haven't been in contact with my mom for a little bit..." Wiley told him, here eyes dropping to the floor. "I left a long time ago, and though I sent her letters, I haven't done that in almost eight months... With Beacon entrance exams and stuff, you know?"

"Oh... Hey, why don't you write her a letter tonight? If you've got some time," Arun suggested. He suddenly gasped, his hand flying to his mouth. "Speaking of time, you should go apologize to Professor Goodwitch! Before she sends you up to see Ozpind or something."

"Oh yeah. I should..." Wiley slumped her shoulders, groaning. "I'll formally apologize tomorrow. I just wanna get through the day today. How about we get some lunch-"

She was cut off by their stomachs grumbling in unison. Arun laughed, nodding his head.

"That sounds great. Come on."

* * *

"Headmaster?" Kazh asked timidly, peeking his head into Ozpind's office. "May I come in?"

"You may. Kazh Yule, correct?" Ozpind asked, turning away from his window. "Professor Goodwitch told me you'd be coming in."

As he returned to his desk from the window, he picked up the mug of coffee, taking a sip as he sat down. He motioned to the chair across from him, nodding as Kazh took a seat.

"So. Tell me what she sent you here for."

Kazh's ears flattened back under his hat, and he kneaded his hands against the top of the desk. "My team, KRWN, has been having some... Cohesion difficulties lately. Turns out Wiley is part of the White Fang and Reg isn't taking it well... The two are fighting and almost seriously wounded two members of team TIAL today while sparring, as well as each other. I'm worried about them, sir. I think Wiley is going to try to switch teams, or at least try, and Reg..."

"She did come talk to me."

"She what?"

"She came to talk to me," Ozpind repeated, watching the color drain from Kazh's face. "But it wasn't about leaving. Miss O'Syrah told me about herself being part of the White Fang, and told me her goals for her time at Beacon. She also asked me to consider moving Reginald off the team."

Kazh slumped, sighing with relief. "Thank god, I guess that's a huge weight off of my chest. But what should I do? I don't really want to kick either of them off of the team, honestly."

"A situation like this is a hard one, especially if the two warring parties refuse to interact," Ozpind allowed himself a moment to stare into his coffee, as if remembering a time long passed. After the moment was over, he looked up, crossing his hands in front of himself. "But you need to find a way to compromise or mediate. You are a team now, and as such, are expected to work through things together. May I suggest getting them together and talking it out? Reginald doesn't know Wiley's side of the story, nor her his. I know that talking is one of your strongest points."

"Talking?" Kazh asked rubbing his head, his smile becoming sheepish. "Golly gee, thanks Headmaster Ozpind, you're making me blush."

"Don't get too full of yourself," Ozpind answered, cracking a smirk. "But yes, speaking is a powerful asset. I trust you can find a way to fix this.

"I understand, Headmaster," Kazh answered, looking up as well. "I think I have an idea of what to do, I'll tell you how it turns out."

"I hope it works in your favor." Ozpind nodded, a smile gracing his lips. He turned his chair around as Kazh left, watching outside of the window again.

* * *

_Text_  
FR: Giselle Reina  
SBJ: Wanna meet?

_hey al, honey, i'm bored... wanna meet @ dust till dawn and have a night on the town? ;~)_

Reg skimmed the message, glancing over at Neta. The boy was fast asleep in his bed, a book held half-open next to him. Wiley and Kazh were both nowhere to be seen, and just an hour after classes had ended, Reg knew the hover crafts would still be running into town. He pulled off his track suit jacket and headed to the closet nearest him, opening it quietly to gather clothes. A short night didn't call for anything fancy, merely nice slacks, his boots (hidden by the legs of his pants at least), and a dress shirt over his T-shirt. He rolled up the sleeves, glancing at his scroll again to return the message.

 _Text_  
TO: Giselle Reina  
SBJ: Wanna Meet? (Reply)

_I would love to, Giselle. I'm on my way over, I'll see you soon._

As he exited his room, careful not to wake Neta, he slipped his scroll into his back pocket and started walking down the hallway. Most students were either in their room or coming back from a post-classes training session, be it with a teacher or peers. Reg was glad he sprayed on a spritz of cologne, which wound mask some of the scent of sweat. As he reached the bottom of the stairs, he ducked behind a crowd, seeing Isaiah and Lilac coming from the main entrance.

They were dressed in workout clothing, Lilac with a sleeveless tank and a pair of running shorts over spandex, knee pads and elbow pads hanging loose around her wrists and ankles. Isaiah was dressed similarly, with a loose t-shirt and ankle-length black spandex. She wasn't wearing her glasses, and had her hair tied back, some of her dreds hiding her shaved head.

Reg skimmed the outskirts of the room, avoiding the two girls. Once outside, he took a relieved breath and started towards the Helicarriers. As he was moving away, back to the door, Arun turned the corner, books in his hands. Reg didn't notice him, and kept walking, taking up a leisurely pace.

"Extra readings.." Arun muttered to himself, adjusting the texts. "I was only late..."

As his eyes landed on Reg, he was bumped into by another student. Arun looked up to see Isaiah, her glasses now on her face, staring after Reg.

"Isaiah?"

"Hi, Arun," She greeted. "Where is Reginald off to?"

"Not sure," Arun answered. "He didn't see me. Hey Lil- ah, Lilac."

"Hey, Arun," Lilac said, giving him a small wave. She held her spear in one hand, a towel and small bag in the other. "Should I call out? Hey! Re-"

Isaiah put a hand over her teammate's mouth. "Don't do it. He wouldn't tell us anyway. We should just follow him."

"When does the next helicarrier leave? Won't he see us sitting next to him?" Arun asked. Isaiah motioned for Arun to give her his scroll, which he did with no hesitance. She tapped the screen a few times, then handed it back. "We have twelve minutes."

"That will give me time to put my stuff down. Let me go do that," Arun told her, taking his scroll back. "Should I tell Tristan?"

"If he's there, it's a good idea," Lilac said as Isaiah nodded in agreement. "Tell him to tell Kazh and that we'll keep him updated."

"Got it," Arun replied quickly, then looked to Lilac. "Want me to take your bag too?"

"Oh, yeah! That would be great, thanks," she answered with a smile. The girls handed their stuff to Arun, helping him balance it all, and then he took off at a brisk pace. Isaiah turned back to the crowd of students, watching Reg wander towards the platform and wait. She kept an eye on him, her stance becoming that of a gargoyle's.

As soon as he was gone, Arun had returned with his weapon and his pajama hoodie on over his shirt instead of his uniform vest and ribbon. Lilac glanced at him, eyebrows raised.

"Why the switch?"

"I don't want the authorities or anything thinking we're ditching school," Arun explained, resting his weapons against his hip.

"But school's over," Lilac said, then scratched her chin. "But I suppose the authorities may not know that... It'll probably work in our favor, actually, good thinking."

"Heheh, I try~" Arun answered, giving her a wide grin and a peace sign. "So how long do we have?"

Isaiah motioned for Arjan's scroll again, and quickly checked the time. She closed it and handed it back, saying, "Two minutes. This is the last time I don't bring my scroll to training."

"Ah! I should have grabbed mine from my bag," Lilac answered with a small laugh. "Well, what's done is done. We should probably get going, before we lose him completely. And as long as at least one of us has a scroll we'll be okay."

"That's right," Isaiah agreed, following Lilac as she led them off.

"Oh, Lilac, why was Minnie in the dorm, by the way?" Arun asked quietly as they loaded into the helicarrier. Arun and Lilac could barely see over the heads of the other students, so Isaiah was left to watch Reg on her own. She kept a good eye on him, adjusting her glasses so they wouldn't fall off during the ride.

"Minnie? Oh. I left her in the dorm so she could rest from this morning's spar. I also wanted to practice a bit without her, since it's been a while since I've fought on my own," Lilac explained, equally hushed. "Was she okay?"

"Yeah, she was still asleep in the sun," Arun giggled.

"She and you should nap together, since you moved your bed right under the window to nap in the sun too."

"Hey, I just like to be warm when I sleep. Isaiah takes naps in sunny spots too-"

"Guys, he's getting fidgety. He's answered two texts on his phone," Isaiah reported, eyes still locked on Reg.

"Two? How do you know they're texts?" Lilac asked, looking at her friend.

"He's skimmed the screen, then typed something, then put his scroll away. Twice. I'm assuming text," Isaiah deducted. Lilac nodded, trying to see over the other students again. She was just tall enough to see the top of Reg's hair, but not him. It probably didn't help that he was short either.

"How much longer until we get there?" Lilac asked.

"A couple minutes," Isaiah answered.

"Got it."

Low and behold, in a couple minutes the helicarrier landed at it's designated station, broadcasting a warning to the students to be back in three hours at latest. TIAL's members lagged back a bit, waiting for Reg to get off the helicarrier and gain some distance from them. As they started following him, Isaiah hushed them into silence, keeping them at least a half a block away from Reg at all times. When he stopped in front of a plain looking shop and waited, Isaiah pulled her teammates into the alley next to it. She kept an eye on Reg, her ear twitching at a vroom from a ways off.

"Do you hear that?" Arun whispered. Isaiah nodded.

"I feel it, too. A vehicle of some sorts," She responded. "It's fast."

"Is it Kazh?" Lilac ventured.

"I don't think so. His hover-bike sounds different."

"She wouldn't be able to feel it, either," Arun said with a wink. "Cool, huh?"

"Yeah- How do you-"

"Sh!" Isaiah hissed, putting a finger to her lips. She peeked out from the corner, just in time to watch a Faunus girl pull a helmet off of her head. She had no ears, but no tail either- She smelled like a cheetah though. Half Faunus? No, not with a scent that strong.

"Who is it?" Lilac asked, trying to peek out. Isaiah ducked slightly, allowing Lilac to see the two. Giselle leaned over and pecked Reg on the cheek, giggling at something he said in response.

"A girlfriend," Isaiah answered, still hushed.

"He has a girlfriend?" Lilac asked, surprised. Arun stifled gasp.

"Her motorcycle is really pretty. But why would he be going out with a Faunus, if he dislikes them so much...?" ARun muttered, resting a finger on his chin. "It doesn't make sense..."

"I don't think he knows. Otherwise he wouldn't even be talking to her," Lilac answered. She pulled away from the wall, letting her hand rest on her spear.

"I agree. He's getting on the bike with her," Isaiah reported. "She said, 'Hey Alex, wanna do something fun? It'll wipe that frown off of your face.'"

'Alex...?' Lilac thought to herself, subconsciously pouting. 'Not even Tristan gets to call him that...'

Isaiah could hear Reg agreeing, and could see him getting on the girl's bike. She shook her hair, eyes flickering up to meet Isaiah's, and slid her helmet on.

"Is something wrong?" Reg asked, under his own helmet.

"No. Just thought I saw someone I knew. Let's go~"

"Crap, I think she saw me," Isaiah cursed, ducking behind the wall again. "I bet she's got sharp vision- that's not good."

"What-" the loud engines of Giselle's bike revved, making the three of them cover their ears. As they drove off, Isaiah emerged from the wall, her ears ringing and her weapons grasped tightly in her hands.

"Come on!" She called, sprinting to follow Giselle's trail. "We gotta catch up!"

"Got it!" and "Right!" Were yelled in unison as Arun and Lilac suddenly bolted out of their places and raced to catch up with Isaiah.

They ran down the streets, using the stoplights less to rest and more to catch up. Isaiah felt like the driver was _teasing them_ , that she was going purposefully slow enough that they could catch up and keep her in sight. Isaiah wouldn't have been surprised, seeing as she'd been spotted- and Reg wasn't the most observant either. As they got farther and farther from the center of town, Isaiah realized they were running towards the docs. The docs, where a whole shipment of Schnee Dust was coming. The docs, where the White Fang was not so subtly advertising for a meet up. The docs, where people didn't go for dates.

Something was fishy, and it wasn't just the smell.

They arrived at the docs, surprised to suddenly see their targets just  _gone_. Isaiah gave a listen, and she couldn't even hear them. She placed a hand against the ground, the faintest of footsteps making it's way to her fingertips- it was behind her.

Arun tapped her shoulder and pointed to the direction the footsteps had come from. He was holding his nose, eyes squinted in annoyance.

"I smell the exhaust fumes from over there. Does she even realize how badly her motorcycle smells? Something must be broken..." Arun noted. Isaiah stood, nodded, and started leading them off. She adjusted her glasses as she did so, keeping an alert eye on the docs.

"May I ask something?" Lilac whispered. "I'm gonna ask anyway. I get ARun being able to smell the exhaust, but how are _you_  doing that, Isaiah? And the feeling thing, that can't be your semblance."

"I'm also a Faunus," Isaiah answered quietly. "A newt, to be precise. It must have slipped my mind to tell you, sorry."

Arun's eyes were positively gleaming with excitement. He whispered, "It's so cool. She can feel vibrations in the ground and can hear and smell really well- Like one time we were all eating and someone across the room farted and Isaiah was the only one who could smell it."

"Arun, please."

"Ew..." Lilac commented, fanning in front of her nose. "That's really good smelling. Is that all? Can you see in the dark too?"

"Night vision is a common trait amongst Faunus," Isaiah answered, a small smirk on her face. "But I am able to breath underwater, somewhat. I don't know when that will come in handy, but I can do it."

As they got to the end of the docs, where most of the Dust stayed until it got picked up and transported to other shops, Isaiah pulled them behind a tall row of freight crates. She peaked out to see what was happening, adjusting her glasses yet again to get a better view. There was an open path down the center of the rows of crates, with multiple paths branching off on each side. The main path lead to an open platform, which was surrounded by more crates. All the paths were separated by crates as well, and between each branch, the ocean water flowed through. It must have made accessing the area easier for ships.

Isaiah sniffed the air, then gave a listen again. It was strange, that she couldn't hear or smell anything- If Reg and his girlfriend's bike were in the area, she should have picked up on their scent...

"Isaiah! Look out!"

Lilac pushed Isaiah down from behind, the two of them scrambling out of the way of the explosion above them. If Lilac had been any slower, Isaiah knew she wouldn't have been, well, dodging out of the way. Arun jumped away from the explosion, drawing his Chakrams and throwing one in the direction of the explosion's origin, only to have it come flying back with even more power. Arun yelped and blocked with his remaining Chakram, the sheer force of the blow sending him flying into the crate of dust behind him where he dented it. He fell to the floor with a cough, clutching Sekhmet Rising.

"Is it Reg-?!" Lilac yelled, readying Mythical Aster. She spun it above her head, pointing it forward just as another explosion collided with the tip of her spear. She activated her semblance and expanded the spear tip outwards, cutting the bullet in half. It diffused immediately, but still carried on and crashed into the crates behind it.

"No," Isaiah answered. "Different smell. I don't know who he is.

"He" emerged from behind a row of crates across from them. His brown boots and ripped jeans came into view first, followed by a black railgun in his hand. His opposite hand and shoulder covered in gold and brown armor, on that same side a holster for bullets. He wore a white quarter-sleeve shirt, and large brown gloves, clearly made for working. Lilac paled at his most stunning feature; the fact he had no hair showed it off even more.

He had three straight, light-colored scars running down the left side of his face and neck, marring his brown skin. Two ran over his eye, the one closest to his nose just touching his lip while the other ran over it and continued down his neck after a brief pause. The last scar ran from his temple, down his cheek and jaw and to the junction of his shoulder, the end just barely covered by his shirt.

Calculating gold eyes stared out at them, accompanied by a smirk that twisted his scar. He hefted the gun over his shoulder and cantered his hip, watching the three intently. Finally, he put a finger over his mouth.

"Don't be too loud now. Giselle'll get her cover blown." He swung his gun out, stopping it just before it hit a nearby crate. "Not like I really care, but her boy-"

"Who are you?" Isaiah demanded, clenching her fists around her weapons. She stepped in front of Lilac, while she went to help Arun up.

"Name's Ungar," he replied, letting his crowbar drop to his side. "And I know you punks are from Beacon, otherwise you'd've scrammed a long time ago."

"Punks don't tend to scram when a fellow punk's safety is involved," Isaiah said, staring Ungar down. "Where's Giselle?"

"Look, I know she looks grungey, but she ain't punk," Ungar muttered, shaking his head.

Isaiah narrowed her eyes, to which Ungar merely raised an eyebrow back.

"She kidnapped someone I know, I'm not here to start trouble with you. I just want to get him back." Isaiah explained. Arun was back to standing, his breathing heavy but slow.

"Unless Giselle releases him from her maws of death, you ain't gettin' him," Ungar told her. "Anyway, that's what I'm here for. You've seen too much. Get lost before I make ya."

"Not gonna happen!" Lilac yelled, spinning her spear. She felt almost naked without Minnie to back her, despite the earlier training session. "We're gonna get Reg back weather you like it or not!"

"Have it your way," Ungar hissed, and the two dashed forward. Ungar swung overhead at the same time Lilac did, catching her spear with his the tip of his gun when it shifted to form a hook.. He swung her spear around with a spin, ducking under it and holding it in place. He brought his hand up for a punch, his first hit being deflected, the second blocked with the spear handle. Ungar gasped as she dug the spear-head into the ground, locking him in place. Lilac used that as an anchor and flipped up and over the staff so she was on his other side, swinging her arm out to hit him across the left side of his face. 

She wasn't expecting her hand to phase through his head, gasping in surprise. 

He brought his foot up in a powerful kick, hitting her in the knees and bringing her to the floor, then swung at her neck with his gun.

Arun threw one of his Chakrams, intercepting the hit. The weapon phased through Ungar's left arm, making him pull back and turn to the remaining members of TIAL. Isaiah rushed forward, swinging her boleros across her in an X-shape, then repeating the process backwards. She started swinging in a figure-eight as she advanced forward, increasing the gravity on the way down with every hit. As Ungar blocked her figure-eights, she started swinging her boleros at her sides, beginning to alternate them by bringing Law forwards when Energize went back, adding gunshots to make her boleros shift mid-spin so he couldn't predict where they were going. Ungar was having a tough time blocking, Isaiah could tell, and she was ready to take him down.

With a final grunt and a spin, she swung Law and Energize over her head, before bringing them down on Ungar. She backed the hit with a pair of gunshots and her semblance. They collided with his gun forcing Ungar to drop the weapon. Before Isaiah could hit him again, he jumped backwards to further get away. Upon doing a flip in midair, Ungar gripped some of the bullets at his hip, tossing them at her so they hit the ground and exploded at her feet. He kept throwing them as he advanced, moving close enough to pick up his discarded gun.

Lilac and ARun jumped in front of her, Lilac slicing a bullet in half. As Ungar readied his gun, he started firing, the three taking steps towards each other. Arun had his halberd out and was using it to also slice bullets, deflecting one with a spin of his weapon and sending it into a crate nearby. Lilac, once close enough, activated her semblance around her sword, rushing Ungar with a yell. Her first hit phased through his shoulder, but the hit on the ground but she brought her blade up against his gun with a hit that sent him stumbling. Arun took the opportunity to jump at thrust his halberd forward, increasing the weapon's time as he threw it to give it the speed of a fired bullet. He caught the chain, lessening the speed and swinging it around on the recoil. Ungar deflected both Arun swing and Lilac's with a figure-eight spin of his gun, ducking under Lilac sword as she swung it out at arms length. She shifted her weapon back to a spear and caught it over her shoulder, spinning away from Ungar when he tried to hit her.

Arun was ready for Ungar's attempted kick, taking half of his halberd and forming a Chakram to use as a shield. He swung the axehead down, the attack phasing through Ungar's knee before burying itself in the ground. Arun yelped, letting the weapon go and spinning out of Ungar's way, just barely blocking the bullet shot at him.

"Lilac!" He yelled to her, watching her being overwhelmed by Ungar using Sehkmet Rising for himself. Arun used his semblance to slow one of Ungar's attacks with the axehead, running in to tackle him away from Lilac. They tumbled until Ungar grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and threw him, where he crashed into Isaiah and the two fell to the ground.

"We seem to do this a lot..." Arun remarked, quickly stumbling to his feet. Isaiah nodded, adjusting her glasses and standing. Arun started moving forward to help Isaiah out and get the other half of his weapon back, when a sudden crack resounded. He felt pain explode in the side of his head and everything went dark almost immediately- he fell so quickly Isaiah barely got to him before he touched the ground.

"Arun!" Lilac yelled. In her surprise, she didn't see Ungar coming up under he guard to kick her in the stomach. She coughed, spitting across his knee and falling to the floor. She noted that his boots were definitely steel-toed, and that she really wanted her armor back. Lilac dropped her spear and collapsed to the ground, holding herself as she coughed.

Isaiah watched with wide eyes as her teammates fell around her, helpless to Ungar and whoever else had taken out Arun. She shook her partner, cradling his bleeding head, and listened to his chest for any signs of breathing. His heartbeat was stuttering, but mostly out of the stress of battle- The head injury was probably causing damage internally.

"Thanks for finally showin'," Ungar hissed, dropping Sekhmet Rising by a still-conscious Lilac. She was curled into a ball, shaking, her spear lying not too far away. Ungar hefted his railgun over his shoulder, turning towards Isaiah. He was speaking at someone past her, someone with no smell or sound other than his voice. For the first time in a while she was genuinely scared.

As Ungar and the other person talked, she reached into Arun's pocket, pulling out his phone. As inconspicuously as she could, she dialed Tristan's number, resting the phone against ARun chest and then her head against it, so she'd look like she was listening to his heartbeat.

"Pick up, Tristan..." She muttered, sighing in relief at the, "Hello!" on the second ring.

"Don't have much time. Docks, dust shipments. We followed Reg and got our butts kicked," Isaiah started, watching Ungar as much as she could. "Arun's in bad shape. Head trauma. Blood."

"What- Isaiah, slow down. Where are you?" Tristan asked, his voice laced with concern. Isaiah let out a small breath.

"The docks. Come quickly," Isaiah scrambled to hang up when Ungar started towards her, another man in tow. He had faded black jeans and similarly styled black shoes, a tight green shirt covered only by a black chest guard, elbow pads, and a single black glove on his left hand. He had brown eyes, dark brown skin, and curly black hair, a chain hanging off the right side of his mechanical-looking belt.

"So, little girl, we'll make this easy. Either keep quiet and leave, or we keep you quiet. What'll it be?" The man asked, standing over her. Isaiah couldn't find the voice to answer, and instead simply glared up at him. He looked at Ungar, who shrugged, and then turned back to her.

"Fine. Have it your way then."

He reached out, his bare hand grabbing her forehead. Before she could react, her vision went out like a TV being turned off, and after that...

* * *

"Neta, you had one job," Kazh said jokingly, motioning to Reg's bed and empty track suit. Wiley barked a laugh from her bed, pointing at him. 

"He was too busy drooling everywhere to notice Reg leave!" She accused, her face joyous, mostly at the prospect of Reg being gone. Neta rolled his eyes and turned away, puffing a strand of hair from his face.

"Whatever. It's not like he'd tell me where he was going anyway," Neta huffed, crossing his arms. "He probably went to train or something."

"I wish that was the case, but he left Motio Glaive here," Kazh said, motioning to the weapon leaning against the side of the desk with both hands.

"Hand-to-hand with Tristan?" Neta asked with a shrug.

"Excuse me, but Tristan sucks," Wiley answered, eyes critical as she looked at him.

"I wonder where he went then..." Neta started to ask, before being cut off by a knock at the door. Kazh moved to answer it, peaking his head out until he saw it was Tristan. Well, definitely no hand-to-hand with Tristan. Kazh opened the door fully.

"What's up, man? Why are you dressed so late?" Kazh asked. Tristan had his hair tied in a ponytail, but was otherwise in his usual combat gear, green pants, white shirt, brown jacket.

"I got a call from Isaiah. I think she's in trouble."

Kazh glanced at Reg's bed, then back at Tristan. "What kind of trouble...?"

"Don't know. She didn't say much. But I need your help getting to the Docks," Tristan asked, crossing his arms. "My whole team is gone, and she mentioned Arun hurt. I'm not sure what happened, but I need to get out there."

"Hey, I understand. Give me a second to get my pants on, we'll go look for them." Kazh answered, hurrying to the drawers by his bed. He pulled out a pair of his bicycle leggings and changed from his shorts, addressing the remaining KRWN members as he pulled Kona down from the wall.

"Neta, your new job- Actually Wiley- No, both of you. Call me if Reg gets back. Please, stay in the room, just in case," Kazh said, pointing at them. Wiley shrugged and laid back on her bed, imitating snoring noises. Neta chuckled a bit at her, then saluted Kazh with two fingers.

"You got it, boss. Give us an update when you find them," Neta requested. Kazh gave him a nod.

"Alright Tristan, let's go."

* * *

The two leaders raced towards town on Kona, the cold wind whipping around them. Kazh wasted no time getting to the docks, using his sense of smell to see if he could find the three missing. He picked up the scent of blood, but mostly salt and sea water- His smell wasn't refined like Isaiah's.

He followed the trail, deeper into the dust shipments. As it got stronger, he noticed other scents as well: Gas from a motorcycle, raw Burn dust stale sweat, fear. Kazh gulped audibly, slowing down as they got towards the open area before the dust shipments.

"Tristan," he whispered, pulling Kona to a stop. "Be careful- I'm getting a bad feeling about this place."

Tristan climbed off the bike, glancing around. He was planning on asking a question, but a movement in the corner of his eye made him stop. He grabbed his backpack, advancing forward slowly while waiting for Kazh to catch up. The feeling Kazh was getting had started to spread to Tristan, making his hair stand on end. He looked around, spying a small tuft of red hair behind a crate.

"Arun!" Tristan yelped, his eyes widening as he ran towards his teammate- no, team. Isaiah had been in trouble, a lot of it, and he was too late to help.

"Kazh! You've got that one teacher's number, right? I see blood, you gotta call," Tristan said, rushing to kneel next to his fallen team members. He went to Arun and Isaiah first, shaking Isaiah's shoulder. She was still crouching over Arun, slumped against him with her head resting against his shoulder. Tristan shook her again, sitting her up so he could check both her and Arun's breathing.

"Hello?" He heard Kazh say over the phone. "Yes, big emergency. Three students, all part of Team TIAL are passed out at the docks. One's bleeding. Yes. No, we haven't called a hospital- Please, just- We know, we're in trouble, we'll explain. Yes, the docks at the end of town..."

Tristan tuned the rest of what Kazh was saying out. He didn't know weather he should move Isaiah or not, instead setting her back in her original position to check on Lilac. She was curled on her side, shivering with cold. He could see a bruise blossoming up her side, through a small tear in her shirt. Panic started to set in, as well as anger and fear. Helplessness washed over him as well, that his team was in danger and he wasn't even there to help.

"Tristan," Kazh called, shaking his shoulder. Tristan glanced up quickly, pulling away from Lilac as he stood.

"How long until they're here?" He asked, taking a breath to calm himself. "I'm worried about Arun."

"Not long." Kazh answered, glancing with worry at the members of the team. "I didn't see Reg at the dorms earlier, and by lack of text-slash-calls, I'm gonna assume Wiley and Bae haven't seen him either. I'm going to look around for him."

"Bae? You mean Neta?" Tristan asked, jabbing his chest with his thumb. "I know this is the time, but he's my bae. He said so."

"Just trying to bring light to a dark situation," Kazh said with a wink. "Bae Number Two."

"Hey! Bae A! B-A!!" Tristan yelped after Kazh as he took off to look around. Tristan waited in silence, kneeling down next to LIlac again. He tapped her shoulder, shaking her lightly. When she merely groaned and refused to look up, he took his jacket off and draped it over her shivering body. She looked so fragile, curled up like that, reminding Tristan that they were all just kids- none of them were invincible. 

He went back to ARun and Isaiah, checking over Arun's wound. First aid was basic training for Hunters and Huntresses, but the combat class they were in was due to go over that at the end of the second semester- Tristan knew some but not enough, and Arun's head injury wasn't covered in what he knew.

Almost fifteen minutes later, the helicarrier arrived with Glynda, Priest, and Professor Port of all people. Kazh returned a few minutes later, just in time to catch the helicarrier back to school with them. He held his hat down the entire ride, making Tristan think he really liked the hat if he'd rather hold it on his head than take it off to keep it from blowing away. The ride back to school was fast, and the two boys helped get everyone into the nurse's main office. Diagnosis and treatment were given quickly by Professor Priest, who gave the boys a small smile. "Mister Aegeon-Teale, right? Can I just call you Tristan? And may I ask how this happened?"

"Sure, Professor Priest. How this happened, I don't really know... Isaiah just called me and gave me some brief details, but I'm not sure otherwise," Tristan explained with a shake of his head. Priest looked to Kazh, earning a shrug.

"I'm the same way. But I do know that my teammate Reg was missing at the same general time, not sure what he knows," Kazh shrugged again. "I got a call before you came though, he came back almost an hour ago."

"Hm... I wonder if he saw somethig, or was even involved..." Priest shook her head. "No, that's not right, I shouldn't be suspecting a fellow student! I'm sorry... If you want you can stay with them tonight."

"Thanks. I think I will," Tristan nodded, suddenly yawning. "I just realized how tired I man. Man, what a day. Wiley trains hard when it comes to hand-to-hand."

He walked across the room to the spare bed next to Isaiah, where he could see his whole team on the beds next to him. He flopped down on his side, sending Kazh and Priest a wave. "Night guys! I'll see you in the morning!"

Light snoring could be heard less than a minute later.

Priest chuckled, brushing her hair behind her ear. "I remember when I used to conk out like that. To be a student again!"

"You were a Huntress?" Kazh asked, surprised, cracking one of his eyes open. He quickly shut it again as he slapped his forehead, muttering, "Of course you were, all the teachers at Beacon were."

"Yup!" Priest answered with a smile. "You can check one of the older yearbooks from Haven Acedemy and you'll find me- But I look really different, back then my hair was a lot shorter, like, masculine short. I was such a tomboy, ha..."

"Oh. I could never have guessed that, you're so... Floofy. What name should I look for?" Kazh asked, scratching his cheek.

"Cathleen Priest. Oh, but don't be fooled, there were two other Priest's in my year: One was spelled P-R-E-E-S-T, and the other was a guy named Ash-Ellis," Priest said. "They didn't do the team name thing back then either, so you may have a hard time."

"I'll keep that in mind if I ever go to Haven," Kazh said, grinning. "I've gotta get back to my room, I'll see you tomorrow."

"Good night, Kazh, thanks for calling this in. Oh! And tell Wiley I have a mixture I'd like her to try on Thursday. It's for that new weapon she's designing, it's coming out really well," Priest suddenly gasped, covering her mouth. "She mentioned that it was supposed to be a surprise."

"What was supposed to be a surprise?" Kazh questioned, taking on a curious face. Priest grinned behind her hand, saying, "Oh, nothing. I just need to talk to Wiley on Thursday~"

"Got it, I'll mention that to her." With that, Kazh waved and headed back to his room.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> On another note, I think I've mentioned all the names of the weapons, but I'll do it here anyway (because I think Lilac's is mentioned for the first time this chapter)  
> Kazh: His bike is named Kona, Icelandic for Lady- also based off the bike company Kona lol  
> Reg: Motio Glaive, chainsaw rapier that can morph into a single-shot shotgun/popgun type weapon.  
> Wiley: Desert Storm, blade augmented gloves that shift into double claws. There is a third form she's working on currently that hasn't shown yet huehue The name matches the name of her emblem, Desert Flower.  
> Nero: Parablades become the Paraspears or the Parabow. Self-explanatory really, the name started as a joke and I kept it lol. Also matches the name of his emblem, Para-digy, which is a play on prodigy, something he is.  
> Tristan: Supersoaker and Blowtorch, his watergun and flamethrower. Named appropriately by my dad if I do say so mi'self.  
> Lilac: Mythical Aster and of course, Minnie~ Aster is a type of flower, matching Lilac namesake, the lilac flower. Mythical Aster has two forms, a spear and a rapier, though she makes it a broadsword by use of her semblance  
> Isaiah: Law and Energize, names based off physics. The laws of gravity, which is a play on her semblance, and Energize, as in energy.  
> Arun: Sekhmet Rising, based off the Egyptian god Sekhmet, who had the head of a lion. A pair of chakrams that can become a halberd connected by chain, Arun does like to increase the time on his halberd when it's thrown, making it move almost as fast as if it was shot from a gun... When he fights with the chakrams he uses them as either katars or throwing weapons, and when he fights with his halberd he uses it like a spear, a slashing weapon, and most closely to Kyouko from Madoka Magica lol
> 
> Thanks for reading this far, reviews and kudos are much appreciated. If you've left any, thank you so much :D


	10. Just Do It?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I should just get on my knees and beg for forgiveness.... 
> 
> I'm so close to being done with this story. I have at least one more chapter planned, though I may try to stretch it to two depending on what happens (and for the sake of even numbers!) before I go back and completely edit this whole fic. I've been talking with my dad and some things are definitely going to be changed, from big things such as Ungar now only having a railgun to tiny ones like Neta having yellow safety glasses instead of goggles lol 
> 
> I personally feel this chapter is a bit weird? I rushed to finish it, and it feels shorter than it actually is because I worked in parts... I can't wait to edit all of this lol 
> 
> Anyway, please enjoy~???
> 
> PS: Mistral Wars is basically Egyptian Wars but with a different name lol

Neta rose out of bed with a yawn. He scanned the room, taking a second to stretch his arms and back out. On Wednesdays, he only had two classes, one, his combat class, being later in the morning. Instead of having to wake up and get to class by nine, he could sleep in for an hour, get to class, and then go to lunch and do whatever work he had leftover afterwards. Because of all the free time, Wednesdays were his favorite days- He was never late to Glynda's class on Wednesdays either.

Speaking of class, he looked around to see everyone in the room gone, probably off at said classes. The clock on the desk displayed the time 9:47, giving Neta about forty-five minutes to get dressed and ready. He pulled himself out of bed with a groan, stretching again before starting to fix the bed.

Thoughts of the previous night started to run through his head as he got dressed. After Kazh had left, he and Wiley had entertained each other with kiddy hand clapping games and word association for almost thirty minutes. Wiley was actually really fast with words, and barely took time to respond where Neta took a few seconds longer. Reg returned shortly after they'd stopped playing, but something was off about him. He looked dead tired, and barely spoke. It wasn't like him to come in and not boast about something, or make a biting comment at Wiley at least- as of late actually, he'd been coming back pretty quietly...

Neta shook his head while he pulled on his jeans, zipping and buttoning them as he looked outside the window. He took a moment to gather his Parablades and put them into their holsters, then went back to his musings as he strapped on his belt.

Reg came home, passed out in full clothing, and Kazh was back forty minutes later. He informed Neta and Wiley of TIAL's condition, leaving Neta to worry about Isaiah all night. Kazh had also asked about Reg, but neither knew anything. Since Neta slept in, he only hoped that it had been addressed early in the morning.

Through the closed window he heard the revving of an engine. He knew some people kept their motorcycles and mopeds on school grounds, but none of them could get anywhere _near_ that level of noisy. He looked out side to see all the commotion, throwing on his shirt as he did. He could see a girl with blonde hair leaning up against a magenta motorcycle, wearing leather pants and a matching jacket. He couldn't see any defined patterns or anything, but he knew for a fact that wasn't the school uniform.

Neta rubbed his eyes, turning away from the wall. He checked the clock again, then started to put on his vest and gather his accessories. He needed his usual safety glasses and bandana, then his sweatbands--

As he mused, Neta didn't even notice the door open. It was Wiley, standing with Jasper and Yuki from team ORNJ. Wiley had a serious look on her face, though her eyes sparked with mischief.

"You gotta come see this," She started. "Some crazy lady just challenged Kazh to a race."

* * *

Lilac was awakened by the sound of engines. She shot up, immediately cringing as the pain in her side flared up. Instead of laying back down, she held her side and looked around, eyes landing on an equally startled Tristan. Lilac looked to Isaiah, then ARun, gasping quietly at the bandages around his head.

"Arun...?" She asked, reaching out. As she tried to stretch, her side cramped, making her cringe and grab at her midsection.

"Don't move too much!" Tristan scolded groggily, getting up. "I tried to tell that to Minnie and she only followed me down here. You bruised two ribs."

"Morning, Tristan..." Lilac answered, startling a bit when she realized the black fur ball at the end of the bed was Minnie. "What's going on outside?"

"Dunno," Tristan answered, moving to the window. He flicked a section of the blinds open, allowing him to see outside. "Some chick on a pink motorcycle is talking to Kazh though. Any ideas?"

"Pink motorcycle? What does she look like?" Lilac asked, starting to lean across the bed. Minnie jerked her head up when Lilac touched her and made a soft meep-y purr, like a cat activating after a nap.

Tristan shrugged. "She's wearing a lot of leather and a cheetah-print top, and her shoes are gaudy as anything. Her hair is blonde with white streaks and--"

"That's Reg's girlfriend!" Lilac exclaimed, loud enough to make Isaiah groan and cover her eyes with her arm.

"Isaiah, hey," Tristan started, walking over while eyeing Lilac. Isaiah merely grunted in reply, pinching the bridge of her nose with her other hand. Tristan stopped at his bed and sat back down, asking, "How are you feeling?"

"Bad headache. Like I've just gotten my mind replaced with fog," Isaiah mumbled. "I can't remember anything, what happened yesterday..."

"I couldn't tell you," Tristan said with a shake of his head. He looked to Lilac for an answer, but she merely sighed.

"I don't remember a lot. After we got to the docks, I remember fighting this guy with a scar, but I went down and can't remember any after that." Lilac explained.

"Do we have any idea what happened to Arun?" Isaiah asked, worry in her voice. Both of her teammates shook their heads, leaving Isaiah to huff in defeat as she tried to remember but couldn't.

Tristan glanced at the window, then turned back to Lilac, asking, "Earlier, you said girlfriend, is she a...?"

"Yeah, she is," Wisteria said, sighing. "Reg doesn't know she's a Faunus. We were following her last night and..."

Lilac began to explain what she could, pausing whenever the engines were revved outside. As she finished her story, Isaiah pushed herself up to sitting, looking around. Her eyes landed on Arun, and she blinked rapidly, trying to focus.

"Are my glasses okay and-or nearby? Are those bandages?"

Tristan grabbed her glasses from the bedside table and handed them to her. As she slipped them on and adjusted them, finding that they thankfully weren't broken, Tristan answered her question with, "Yeah, those are bandages. We're not sure what's wrong though- he was bleeding a bit from a scab on his temple, the area was glowing slightly. I think that may have been his aura, but I've never seen him use it before. Otherwise, he may just be sleeping? We know he can sleep through stuff easily, but his tail hasn't even moved since yesterday."

"That can't be good..." Lilac mumbled, petting Minnie when the Grimm jumped into her lap. "Even when he sleeps his tail moves..."

"He's not dead. He's probably- I don't know. He's probably... Something," Isaiah fell back on her bed, bouncing slightly. The thin frame creaked, hiding her shaky breath.

"Some of it's coming back. What did the nurse say?" She asked, quiet and as worried as Tristan had ever heard her sound.

"Nothing's physically wrong with you. She said that you were probably dehydrated, but I don't believe that," Tristan murmured, looking at the ground. Silence fell over the room for a few moments, only to be broken by the revving of engines from somewhere in the distance.

"Jeez, how many times has she done that?" Lilac asked, clearly annoyed. "Tristan, go see what's happening. We'll tell you what we hear about if the nurse comes back."

"Alright. I'll try not to fall asleep..." Tristan answered with a laugh while rubbing the back of his head. As he stood up, Isaiah gave him a judgmental look.

"It just dawned on me. Did you skip class today?"

"What? Pfft, no, I... I just slept through it," With that, the leader of TIAL dodged out of the room, heading towards the noise of engines.

* * *

"Come oooon, don't tell me you're scared?" Giselle whined, leaning forward to flick the bill of Kazh's hat. Kazh immediately took a step back, looking around. He shook his head, fixing his hat around his ears.

"Not scared, never scared," He answered casually. Giselle shrugged, leaning up against her bike.

"Alex likes to tell me _aaaall_ about his _fearless_ leader, I never pegged him as the type to bluff. Where is he, anyway? I told him to meet up with me twenty minutes ago..." Giselle started to pout, puffing out her cheeks.

Kazh finally cracked a smirk, shrugging. "I keep him on the good grades. He's in class right now. He gets out in a little bit."

Kazh caught Wiley's scent, turning to see her running over with Neta, Yuki, and Jasper. The two members of ORNJ hung back when they reached the center ring of the now-forming crowd, Yuki holding Jasper's arm tightly. Neta was in full combat gear, eying Giselle suspiciously, while Wiley, still in uniform, looked positively ecstatic.

"Lady, are you crazy!" She immediately barked, jumping onto Kazh's shoulders. She pushed him forward slightly, making him hold his hat in place- she almost knocked his arm out of the way when she slung one of her arms around his shoulders, pointing at Giselle with the other hand. "You're going down if you race this guy!"

"I heard from a lovely blonde student that you 'cheated' to win?" Giselle quipped, examining her nails. She gave Kazh a knowing smirk. "Two can play at that game."

"Excuse Yang, hovercrafts are not cheating," Kazh retorted, holding up a finger matter-of-factly. Wiley mirrored the gesture, grinning confidently. Neta followed them, holding up both fingers- one for Reg.

"Besides, I will admit that Yang did better on the straights than I did. It was a very close race," Kazh finished with a grin, remembering that race like it was yesterday. Man, that was a _race_.  

"That's not what miss Xiao Long said," a voice from behind them stated. The crowd parted like the Red Sea, and Reg strolled through, passing his team with a confident smirk. He walked right up to Giselle, slipping a hand around her waist and leaning up to kiss her cheek. The crowd gave mixed "oohs" and "aws~", gathering tighter when Reg merely leaned against Giselle's bike as well.

Kazh knew he wasn't a rule breaker, and he never wore his uniform in a sloppy manner. But something was definitely strange, as Reg didn't have his blazer on, and his shirt was untucked under the vest. He still wore his purple chord, and his tie was as fancy as ever, his hair gelled in it's usual mohawk. It was like he was trying to Jack Isaiah's uniform swag, and actually pulling it off.

"I thought you had class," Neta asked, putting one finger down.

"The teacher let us out early today." Reg shrugged. "You didn't sleep in though."

Giselle leaned over, resting her arm around his shoulders. She asked gently, "You've only told me about Kazh, who are the others?"

"The green-haired one is Neta, the other is Wiley," Reg answered simply, crossing his arms at the mention of her name. Kazh felt her tense, a growl emanating from her throat. He nudged her with his elbow, turning his grin back on Giselle.

"You know, we can introduce ourselves. We've got under a half-hour until the next class, why don't we all get some quick breakfast? Drinks are on me," Kazh stated, shoving his hands into his blazer pockets. The crowd gave a whoop, not like drinks weren't free anyway, but the good drinks were in the vending machines, and those cost money.

Giselle rolled her eyes, standing up. "So boring! Come on, Al, this isn't what you told me it would be like. I was expecting some actual fun, you know?"

Reg held up his hands, placating. "There's more interesting things elsewhere in the school, let me give you a tour."

Before Giselle could reply, Kazh called out, "Who are you, anyway?"

"Oh. I never gave a name. You can call me Reina." Giselle smiled sweetly, batting her thick lashes at him.

Slit-pupiled eyes stared back at him. Definitely a Faunus. Kazh shrugged, cocking his head a bit so no one would notice his ears flattening back under his hat. Wiley's ears did the same, the growl getting louder in her throat.

"Hey, let's go find a place to race, maybe others will be more willing to," Giselle commented, turning on the bike and revving the engine, mostly for show. Kazh couldn't help his ears from ringing, grimacing at the noise. Most of the students around them covered their ears, one person giving an "eeee-yup!" of pure appreciation. Giselle cocked a smirk, at least he had appreciation for the loudness. She continued, "Like Miss Yang, maybe she'll want a fair race."

Reg snickered at the comment, knowing full well that Giselle's bike was hardly fair. But he still followed her anyway, saying, "I'll escort you to the track."

"Thank you babe~" Giselle sing-songed, kissing his cheek as he pulled away. She shot Kazh a cocky look. "You know where we'll be if you want us~"

She started pushing her bike off to the school's track, escorted by Reg and followed by a few other students. Kazh frowned deeply when they were out of sight, trying to turn to watch. Wiley held him in place though, giving him a look.

"She was a Faunus," Wiley said. Kazh nodded.

"Her pupils were slit," Kazh responded. Somewhere in the distance, Giselle's engine was being revved- The teachers were going to have to check that out eventually. Kazh leaned closer to Wiley and whispered, "And she smelled like a cheetah."

"I got that too," Wiley whispered back, then turned to Meta. "She smelled like a cheetah. Kazh said he saw slit eyes, we think she's a Faunus."

"Why would he be dating her then?" Neta asked. He motioned at Wiley, finishing with, "I mean, he clearly hates Faunus- or at least the White Fang- so why-"

"Actually, you've got that wrong."

The group turned to see Tristan walking to them. He looked tired and drained, his long hair tangled but draped over his shoulder. He looked like he had been trying to untangle it while walking over. His shirt was crumpled and his jeans were messily tucked into his boots, but he was otherwise his usual chipper self.

"Hey Tristan," Nero greeted, smiling slightly at the "hey bae" in return. Neta's smile dropped quickly as he asked, "What do you mean we've got it wrong?"

"It's not that he hates Faunus- He's part Faunus," Tristan explained, "It's just that he hates the White Fang, and other supporters."

Kazh nodded slowly. He wondered if Reg would pitch a fit about his ears, and accuse him of being part of the White Fang as well, like he'd done with Arun. He wanted to tell Reg at some point, but this wasn't the best point- he couldn't risk another fight amongst his teammates, especially between himself, the leader, and his own partner. He quickly shook his head and focused again on Tristan.

"So what happens when he finds out Giselle is a Faunus, and-or part of the White Fang?" Kazh asked, cocking his head to the side. Wiley was still hanging on his shoulders, the act causing him to bump heads with her a little. She shrugged, dragging him down a bit, as she said, "I'm getting that villain vibe from her, but I don't think she's White Fang. Then again I don't know everyone in the White Fang..."

"But your vibes and guesses have a really good chance of being right," Neta supported.

"He's got a point. If she is part of the White Fang, he'll probably dump her," Tristan answered with a shrug. "It's not like he's really dancing around to get her approval, is he?"

KRWN's members shared a look.

"He kind of is," Nero responded with a sigh.

"He tries to impress her and is acting all suave and stuff," Wiley added in, finally moving away from Kazh. "He wants her to like him, I know it. He probably bought her something she wanted already."

"That would explain the sudden draw from his bank account," Tristan mused, putting his thumb under his chin and his first finger above. "On a dress, no less... Well then, good thinking, Wiley."

"Oh. It was just a guess," Wiley answered, a bit surprised that she was right.

Neta gave her a light tap to the shoulder. When she turned to look, he deadpanned, "See what I mean? High chance of being right."

Kazh nodded in agreement. They stood in silence for a moment, before another rev of Giselle's engine tore through the air. It was like she was having a competition with the bell to see who could be louder, and she was clearly winning.

"Class is starting soon, I better go get Reg," Kazh said.

Tristan stepped ahead of him, turning slightly to give him two finger pistols. "I'm already changed, you go ahead. I'll bring Reg over, alright?"

"But he's my teammate, I should go with you," Kazh reasoned. Wiley shrugged, given his shoulder a gentle push.

"We can cover for you if you're late. Go get him," Wiley said, smiling. She then turned to Neta, hands on her hips. 

"Well! Just us partners, like in the old days, going to class together! Come on!"

The two headed off to class together, while Kazh turned and chased after after Tristan. He caught up easily, falling into a brisk walk with him.

"So do you know her at all? Like met her before," Tristan asked, indicating Reg's girlfriend.

"Not really," Kazh responded with a shrug, his usual grin slipping back on. "Her name is Reina though- At least that's what she says."

Tristan made a high-pitched 'phew' noise, like he was trying to whistle without whistling. "Isaiah and Lilac mentioned that they were chasing her last night. She led them to the docs area where we found them."

"Did she attack them?" Kazh asked, nudging Tristan so he'd turn towards the track. Tristan did as asked, shoving his thumbs in his pockets.

"I don't know, I asked but neither Lilac or Isaiah could remember, and Arun's still asleep. But I think she's involved with whoever did, you don't just go to the docks for dates man," Tristan explained. "And I should know."

"I need Wiley here to guess why," Kazh joked. When that pulled a snort out of Tristan, he turned serious again. "Do _you_ think she's White Fang?"

"I couldn't say. Why would the White Fang go out of their way to lure some kids from Beacon out and attack them?"

"It could be to send a message? I don't know. We'll figure it out with help from your team too."

They arrived at the track to see Giselle and Reg standing by the bleachers, Giselle's motorcycle parked nearby. No teachers had come to bother her yet, but a new group of students was starting to gather as old ones went off to class. Kazh and Tristan made their way to the crowd, calling out "excuse me's" and "pardon's" as they made their way through. They finally got to the center, Tristan dusting himself off.

"Here come the fashion police," Reg murmured, not looking over as Tristan made his way towards him, Kazh in tow. The two stopped in front of the couple, Kazh looking at his teammate.

"Okay, I know you hate when I do this," TIAL's leader started, looking at Reg, "But I gotta say the vest-shirt combo today? Looking really good bro."

Giselle gave a small laugh, looking at Tristan and Kazh. She gave Kazh a small wave, then eyed Tristan up and down. "A friend?"

"Yeah, a friend," Reg answered, shooting Tristan a look that said, "don't mention us being siblings."

Either the message wasn't clear enough, or the Tristan simply didn't have an answering machine set up, but somewhere in there meaning was lost. Instead of keeping his mouth closed, he said, "Well, also his brother. Adopted though, which is why we look nothing alike."

Both Giselle's and Reg's eyes widened, and they looked at each other. She suddenly laughed, saying, "You didn't tell me you had brothers too!"

"Well, there are lots of things you don't know yet..." Reg recovered smoothly, scratching the back of his head. Tristan raised an eyebrow, then gave Giselle a sweet smile.

"My name is Tristan. It's nice to meet you," He said. Giselle giggled playfully, a smile stretching across her face. She held out her hand, indicating she wanted him to kiss it. He gladly obliged with a bow, a playful act of formality. Reg rolled his eyes, taking Giselle's hand back as soon as Tristan let it go.

"What do you two want?" Reg asked, eyes narrowed. Kazh jammed a thumb at the building behind him.

"Class is starting soon. Wiley and Neta went on ahead, but professor Goodwitch is going to be out for my head if any of us are late or ditch again. We have a track record for most missed classes apparently. And probably a place in the yearbook for that," He explained, tucking his hands in his pockets.

Reg looked between him and Giselle, then gave a chuckle. "Why don't you come watch us? You can see me in action. I'll win a few fights for you."

"That's so sweet, Al~" Giselle cooed, hugging his shoulders and kissing his cheek. "It's a date! Let's get you to class then, so you can win _all_ of your fights for me. I'd expect nothing less~"

As she passed Kazh, she flipped the bill of his hat, giving him a small smile. "Kazhy-poo, let's race afterwards, okay? Reg tells me it's your lunch break, so we should have time, right?"

As she strode off, still holding Reg's shoulders, Tristan asked, "Kazhy-poo?"

"I... Don't know. Don't tell Wiley, she'll never let me live it down," Kazh said, slumping as he started to follow Reg.

"Sure thing, Kazhy-poo!" Tristan chirped, running after his fellow leader.

* * *

The class felt unusually short. Maybe it was the apparent lack of tension, or the fact that TIAL never got to fight because all of their members were missing. Yuki fought a battle with both of the red-haired twins from a week ago, and all of ORNJ went up against a new team that had just transferred into the class. Reg fought a few battles, winning all of them as he promised he would- It wasn't very eventful.

The most surprising thing was that Glynda wasn't angry over Giselle watching.

Class was dismissed and everyone went to change. Wiley and Neta went to check on team TIAL, while Tristan stayed with Kazh for the race. Kazh coasted along on Kona as they headed to the track to meet with Reg and Giselle. He had stayed in his combat uniform with the reasoning, "I didn't want to snag one of my pant legs in the bike chain. I've only got three pairs you know."

"You ready for this?" Tristan asked as they arrived. Giselle was already waiting, her helmet on and her bike running. She gave a small wave to them, which Kazh returned.

"Always. Now that it's lunch I don't have to worry about missing class," Kazh replied, smirking. "Besides, this'll be fast anyway- I'm pretty sure she'll eat my dust."

"I love it when you get all feisty," Tristan grinned, nudging Kazh's arm with his elbow. "Kick her butt."

Kazh nodded, grinning. Internally, he was nervous- the flipping and twisting of his stomach was a tell-tale sign, his hands were trembling slightly too. Earlier he'd turned down Giselle because of time constraints, but now he didn't have that escape route, if he could even call it that. He couldn't say why he didn't want to race Giselle, but something was definitely up with her, and _that_ scared him.

"You got it."

That uncertainty. What he didn't know about her, coupled with Reg's strange new behaviors and her sudden appearance after TIAL's defeat. She was trouble, trouble he didn't want to be part of, and wanted Reg away from.

As Kazh rolled over, he shifted Kona into her hover-bike form. He pulled up next to Giselle, who revved her engine over the rounds of applause. Kona was nearly silent compared to her bike, hovering off the ground easily a foot in the air. She eyed the weapon with a predatory glint in her eye, turning back to the track ahead of her as if nothing was wrong.

"I suppose if you win it'll count as cheating," She ventured.

"But if I lose then I lose," Kazh returned, ignoring the way Reg looked away from him. "There's no way for me to win-win."

"Hmm... What a sad twist of events," Giselle conceded, smiling under her helmet. "May the best Faunus win~"

Kazh growled low in his throat, surprising even himself. "Bite me," He hissed, turning away from her, his ears flattening against his head. Over her engines he had confidence nobody'd heard it- and he wasn't about to let her expose him. He wasn't about to let her put him through elementary school and middle school again. He wasn't going to get bullied and ostracized this time.

Giselle waved her hand at Reg, and he came to stand in front of them, one hand up. He started counting down from five on his fingers, looking between the two. He hoped Giselle would win.

His hand came down. The two took off. Reg employed all of his formal training to keep from flinching. Crap they were _loud._

It seemed like seconds before Kazh was rounding the first corner. He leaned in, hugging the curve, before taking off again at the straight. Giselle seemed to be lagging behind him, but he didn't look back to check. He didn't know how many laps he was doing, he'd go until Reg told them to stop.

The first lap was consistently smooth. He stayed in front of Giselle, pacing himself- But she seemed to be purposefully lagging back. He figured she wouldn't challenge him if she had no chance of winning, so obviously she still had an ace up her sleeve. He wanted this finished before she could use it.

They turned onto the second straight, heading back towards Reg to complete their second lap. Kazh shifted some gears- Left 1, right 3- and sped up, leaning forward to give Kona a little extra oomph. He past Reg, the two of them purposefully looking away from each other; Kazh turned into the curve thinking, "it's like we went though a bad breakup."

Well, in a sense, they kind of did.

This couldn't just be three laps, he thought, chancing glancing behind him. Giselle was just turning the corner, but she was steadily increasing her pace. She was definitely toying with him. As soon as she hit the straight, Kazh blinked heavily, opening his eyes to find her gone. He faltered, almost flying out of his lane, quickly bringing Kona back to steady. His opponent was racing in front of him, at the same speed she'd been at before. Kazh struggled to catch up, as Giselle kept at a constant speed in front of him.

He grit his teeth, watching- no, hearing- Reg call, "Final lap!"

He blinked again and Giselle pulled even further ahead. Cursing himself he shifted his gears again, pushing Kona to the fastest she could go. On the straight he managed just barely to catch up to her. She didn't do her blinky trick again. The rest of the race was uneventful, the obvious candidate winning. She pulled to a stop quickly behind Reg, and hopped off her bike while Kazh did another lap before flying to Tristan. Giselle pulled her helmet off and jumped at Reg, hugging his shoulders and kissing his cheek.

"I won! I won! You obviously saw that, but did you see that!"

"I did, babe, good job~" Reg congratulated her, kissing her cheek as well.

She giggled at him, and their conversation continued. Kazh wasn't listening.

"Dude, that sucked, I'm sorry," Tristan gave his fellow leader a small smile.

Kazh nodded, his brows creased. "It... I don't want to say 'she cheated,' but..."

"Come on, everyone feels like that sometimes. It's not good sportsmanship but I can begrudge you one time," Tristan said good-naturedly, slapping Kazh on the back.

Kazh used Kona to brace himself so didn't fall over. He coughed and righted himself, watching the track for a bit as he started to head back to the locker rooms with Tristan in tow.

"How long do we have left for lunch?" He asked.

Tristan pulled out his scroll. "We've got an hour and twenty minutes, almost," he said, while checking what was probably a text. "Isaiah wants me back at the infirmary, the nurse is checking in on my team. Wiley and Neta went to eat with ORNJ, they want you to meet them at the fountain and eat too after you're changed. Go get'em, tiger."

Kazh gave the blonde a smile, his face relaxing. The two exchanged goodbyes and Kazh headed for the locker rooms, still mulling over Giselle's victory in his head. He wondered what the blinking had to do with her getting ahead of him, but there was one thing he knew: whatever it was made her temporarily disappear, because for a split second at each blink, her engines were only echoes.

* * *

KRWN was all together in their dorm for once.

Wiley and Kazh were sprawled on their bellies on the floor in their pajamas and surrounded by a sea of notes and homework. However, instead of doing said homework, they were playing a card game, Mistral Wars, and even when told to stay quiet they were still loud. Wiley's slapping on the floor prompted their downstairs neighbors to slam on the ceiling of their dorm with some weapon or something, making all the occupants of KRWN's dorm jump and curse. Neta passed them a pillow and made them play on that so they wouldn't cause more distractions.

Speaking of Neta, he was sitting at the desk by Reg's bed as usual, hard at work on homework. He had a paper due in two weeks and he needed to get his thesis finished and checked over by his teacher and some peers before he actually started his first draft, which then needed to be check and edited and-

He needed three weeks, he didn't need more white hairs for Wiley to pester him about.

Reg was on his phone, homework sitting half-finished at the end of the bed. He kept saying he'd do it later, but Neta didn't believe it. Since the girlfriend-thing, Reg's grades had been slowly slipping from straight A's to one or two B's, to all B's and two C's thrown in. It was worrying, that he'd really let his grades fall so badly for a chick he hardly knew.

Neta looked at his red-haired teammate and tried to read the message through the scroll. There was no message, Reg was just playing a game. He looked at Neta through his screen, sharp eyes making him jump a bit.

"What?" Reg asked, putting his phone down on his chest.

"Um," Neta started, fidgeting in his chair. He averted his eyes and went back to his homework, but continued to speak. "I-I was just wondering what you were playing."

"You're terrible at lying," Reg muttered, shifting to lean forward. Neta started spinning his pencil subconsciously, tapping his other fingers in a beat.

"What did you want?" Reg asked again, watching the pencil spin. He could do that. Kind of.

"I guess I was just wondering what it's like having a girlfriend. I don't know." Nero sighed, catching his pencil in his fingers. He turned his chair to face Reg and rest his head on his hand, propping a leg up on his chair.

"It's pretty fun," Reg replied, smiling. "It's only been a couple weeks since we started dating, but Giselle's pretty cool. She's into all that traditional chivalry stuff though, so I usually pay-"

A sudden buzz ran from his ear to the base of his back. He cringed and shuddered, rubbing his neck.

"You okay?" Neta asked curiously.

"Yeah..." Reg said, slowly. He didn't know why he was remembering buying her the cocktail dress from a while ago. And the new helmet, and the two pairs of shoes and the necklace and--

_"Thanks for the new helmet, Alex!" Giselle squealed, hugging his shoulders tightly. "Oh, you even got the perfect color! But don't you think it looks a bit too masculine for me...?"_

_Giselle pouted, batting her lashes. She let him go and gave him a big smile anyway. "Oh, but that's okay, I know your memory's a little spotty sometimes. Anyway, we're off to our date! Come on, the Prancing Pony as usual, yeah?"_

Wait a minute, didn't she say all of that was food...? He was pretty bad as remembering- Which she'd also said- what...?

"I think," He conceded, sitting up a little straighter when he noticed all eyes in the room on him. Shaking his head, he turned back to Neta. "Anyway, dating takes a lot of time and dedication. If you want a perfect relationship, communication is key."

"Wow," Wiley said with a snicker. "You'd certainly be the expert of _that_."

"Wiley, please," Neta and Kazh both sighed.

"Sorry, sorry-" Wiley laid a card down and smashed her hand atop the pile on the pillow, her eyes lighting up as she squealed, "Sandwich! That was a sandwich! And it's mine!"

She ended with a laugh that probably made someone next door cringe. Kazh did his own cringe at the fact he'd lost. Again.

"So how are you and Reina doing?" Kazh asked, putting his hand down and turning to Reg and Neta. Wiley followed suit, sitting up as well.

Reg's voice became clipped and sharp as he answered, "We're lovely. Having a grand time."

"Do you guys actually go on dates and stuff?" Wiley asked, surprisingly civil given the current tensions.

Reg looked at her with confusion and didn't answer for a while. When she finally seemed to get bored and went back to shuffling cards, Reg answered, "Yeah. We do."

"Where to?" Kazh asked, remembering TIAL mentioning Reina bringing Reg to the docks for something.

"Mostly downtown," Reg shrugged. "We eat out a lot, and we're always around the docks..."

_They rode at top speeds through the streets, Reg holding Giselle's waist tightly. He didn't mind this, being close to her while she was in control. Sure he liked leading, but he didn't mind being lead sometimes._

_"Where are we going today, babe?" He asked when they came to a stoplight._

_"To the docks, of course~" Giselle answered with a laugh._

_"As usual..." Reg sigh-sighed in return-n-_

Buzzing ripped through Reg's head, making him hold his ears. Neta sat forward, concern creasing his face.

"You okay?"

Reg shook his head, what was going on with him...?

"Just a headache," He answered with another shake. Kazh was at his side, looking him over.

"Maybe we should get you to the nurse." The leader offered.

"I'm fine, I just-"

_What's there today?" Reg ask-ed. Giselle turned to him, giving him a g-grin._

_"We're scoping out a dust heist, of cours--_

Reg pushed away from them, scrambling off the edge of the bed. He quickly went to the closet and threw on a pair of shoes, going for the door. Wiley was in front of him, hands out like she was playing goalie in soccer.

"We're are you going?" She asked him, maybe genuinely concerned.

Reg growled at her, "out of my way," and pushed past, opening the door. She followed him into the hallway, grabbing the back of his jacket and turning him around.

"Hey!" She barked, holding the front of his collar now. "You can't just leave right now. You're breaking school rules, Mr. Perfect Student. Get back-"

"You're not a teacher and you're not an exemplary student, you're not even worthy of being an actual Huntress! You're White Fang! You--"

 _"Tantalo, are you serious!" Ungar yelled, throwing his hands out in Reg's direction. "You_ told _him?! Everything?! Now he knows we're working with the White Fang! You know when that gets out, Torchwick, Fall, that tri-colored ice-cream lolita- They're gonna come after us and rip us apart after firing our butts!"_

_"Oh please, Ungar~! Tim's got the handle on it! You know how his memory tricks work," Giselle cheered, squeezing Reg's hand in hers._

_"And what happens when it wears off?" Ungar demanded, throwing his hands in the air. "You never think things through, you reckless woman!"_

_"Oh, you should have reminded me it wore off, you silly boy! I'll just bring him here all the time so Tim can keep wiping his memories. What a hassle, you should have reminded me..." Giselle complained, letting Reg go. She turned to face him, slit-pupiled eyes leering at him._

_"Be a good boy, s-sit sti-still_

Reg reeled back from Wiley, turning and sprinting down the hallway. He needed answers, he needed them now. His mind felt heavy, like he had a brick in his skull instead of a brain, and he couldn't seem to even remember how long it had been since he'd started dating Giselle. Time seemed to fly for him, because he was missing _hours_ of his life to that Tim guy.

They were White Fang. Giselle was White Fang. He'd been tricked to heaven and back without even realizing it. Oh god he was such an idiot.

Wait a second. He could confirm or deny now weather Giselle _was_ tricking him or not. He had his scroll, he knew a place to meet her... But he also knew it was a reckless plan that could possibly get him killed. He was already panicked and needed confirmation that she was as good as his memories said she was...

What even were his memories saying anymore.

Reg got outside, the cool air wafting over him and chilling him to the bones. He hugged his tracksuit close, pulling his Scroll out. Giselle was on speed dial. He didn't know if he wanted to crush his Scroll or actually call her.

He decided on the latter, pressing the phone to his ear. She answered on the second ring, her tone exasperated.

"What is it, honey?" She seemed tired, he could hear the sound of music in the background.

"Am I interrupting anything?" He asked, rushed.

She sighed, barely seeming to take notice of him. There was silence, he could hear her shifting, the music soon drowning away. "No. That party was boring anyway, my favorite person wasn't with me."

He couldn't help but smile a bit at that. Reg took a deep breath and started waking towards the hellcarriers, scanning the area for any ways to get to Vale.

"Hey, I was wondering if you wanted to meet up...?" He ventured, chewing at his lip. He should have kidnapped Kona, or at least brought his sword, maybe he'd have found his way down that way.

"This late?" Giselle asked, her voice now lifting. "Aren't you just the worst boy! I'll meet you at the bottom of the cliff in front of Beacon, there's a walking trail by the track. Don't be late! See ya Al~"

She hung up, leaving Reg to his own thing. He started to head towards the track, zipping up his suit so the collar came up over his nose and chin. He breathed into his hands as he jogged, trying to keep warm desperately. It was too late for this, at least the run helped warm him up.

The trail was just where Giselle had said it would be, off the track hidden behind some trees and a shed. It must have been an emergency route or something, and it looked to be long since traveled- old and dusty, mostly overgrown with weeds and tree roots. But it was a clearly defined road, and though it twisted and turned dangerously, the steepness making Reg slip in some places, it wasn't as bad as having to climb down the face of the cliff.

Reg made it to the bottom, tripping and collapsing to his knees. His breath felt too loud, his chest too heavy. The roar of engines sounded from someways off, and Reg scrambled to his feet, dusting himself off. Giselle rolled up in front of him, tilting her head and shoulder towards each other in greeting. She had no helmet with her, but Reg got on the bike anyway.

"Let's go to the docks," He started, circling her waist with his hands. "There's some things I wanna talk about."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I fell asleep halfway through editing this and got up after like ten minutes to one of my friend's texts so I didn't edit this chapter... Anyway I still hope you liked it??? Ah well lol Night~ Love you~


	11. Are You Okay

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm 
> 
> Finally 
> 
> DONE!!!! 
> 
> The final chapter to KRWN and TIAL's first semester!!!!! 
> 
> These notes are somewhat temporary, as I'm already undergoing some major editing in the story so any inconsistencies will be fixed within the next week (Thanksgiving Break is coming up, and I don't think I have much homework yet meaning I'll have a _lot_ of time.) Until then, I hope you enjoy it haha And thanks for sticking with me this long. Cheers!
> 
> EDIT: I'm so goddamn sorry it took me so long to edit this fuckin fic. I haven't salted about RWBY in these notes but let me tell you, my friends call me a salt shaker for a reason lol Every time I wanted to work on this I'd remember my salt and groan, but I finally got off my ass and did it. Thank you so, so much for sticking with me through this. I think there may be like one more time I run through to change something, but other than that I'm d o n e. I hope you guys enjoy/enjoyed this, thank you for all the kudos, comments, and bookmarks. It means so much to me, it really really does :) 
> 
> Allllllright Wes enough being a sap let them read the fic lol

"Oh man is he okay?"

Neta was pacing the room, chewing his thumb. He stopped, turned to Wiley, his eyes wide as he looked at her.

"Are _you_ okay?"

"I'm fine, Green," Wiley retorted, fidgeting. She sat on the edge of her bed, not looking at either of her teammates. She found herself actually worried about Reg, she had been almost scared at the look of wild confusion in his eyes. For a few seconds she swore he'd actually forgotten who she was and where they were.

Neta continued pacing, passing Wiley another three times before Kazh stood up. Neta bumped into him, stopping immediately. He glanced up.

"I-"

"I know you're worried, Neta."

"Sorry."

"Don't be. We both are," Kazh chuckled, albeit nervously, but still cocked his head and smiled. Neta couldn't help but give a small smile back, hoping that Kazh had a plan.

"So what are we gonna do?" Wiley asked, finally looking up at them. Kazh went to his bed and hopped onto it, pulling Kona off her rack.

"You got a plan?" Wiley asked again, raising an eyebrow. She had leaned back on the headboard, her legs stretched out across the bed.

Kazh grinned, setting his bike on the floor. "When have I never?" He asked.

"Plenty of times. All the time. There was no point in asking that because you _always know what you're doing._ " Neta retorted, waving his hands at Kazh. The leader shrugged, walking to the door and picking up Motio Glaive.

"Then I guess I better make a plan quick..." Kazh mumbled, bringing the sword back to his bike.

"Here, I got it," Wiley started, switching her crossed legs. "We track Reg by scent and follow him, then slap him around a bit and scold him for causing trouble."

"I like the tracking by scent part, but let's not slap him around," Kazh agreed, leaning on Kona. He fiddled with the handlebars, not looking at the gears.

"Then let's do it. We have Wiley, we can-..." Neta suddenly lost thunder, looking at the bike. "Three of us can't fit on that."

"You forget!" Wiley started, jumping to her feet and puffing out her chest. "My semblance is wind! I can use it to run faster, as demonstrated during initiation!"

"Oh, right. Then we can totally do it!" Neta turned to Kazh, excited. He held his fists in front of him, shaking them up and down. "Let's get reckless and break some rules. Let's find Reg!"

"Man, ever since Wiley made you use two spears you've been nothing but a rebel," Kazh chuckled, ruffling Neta's hair. He pointed at the door when he was done, one hand on hip. If they were gonna track Reg, they were gonna do it in style.

"Alright! Get your weapons and your combat gear, We're off to find our teammate!"

* * *

The buzzing in his head had stopped, and he felt sharp- He'd remembered mostly everything now, being used and tricked. The feelings of anxiousness were replaced by a tugging in his gut, alerting him of bad things. He knew he should have trusted that feeling the first time he'd seen Giselle, when it told him that she was bad news. He cursed his stupidity, his ignorance, biting his tongue to keep from making a noise he'd regret.

Giselle brought him to the docks, back towards the crates THUG was stealing. Reg looked around, noticing some crates were already missing- They must have started already.

She pulled to a stop and pulled off her helmet, shaking her hair. She waited for him to get off, before she did the same and hung her helmet on one of the handlebars. She turned to smile at him, making him shiver. That was never a nice smile.

"So what did you want to talk about, sweetie?" Giselle asked, leaning on her bike with her forearms like she was actually being thoughtful.

"I..." Reg gulped, looking around. He needed a distraction. "I was..."

"Hold that thought. Hattie!" Giselle turned towards a high stack of crates and started waving frantically, jumping up and down while yelling, "yoo-hoo!" A figure appeared at the top of the crates, tall and looming, with a long claymore held over her shoulder and across her back. She had a loose jacket and long hair from what Reg could tell, her striking eyes a familiar pink. She observed them for a moment, before turning away and bounding off to another section of crates. As soon as she came she was out of sight.

"Sorry about that, just had to say hi to my _most favorite person_ in the whole world," Giselle returned to her spot on her motorcycle, smiling sweetly. Reg felt his stomach flip, he shouldn't have expected to be Giselle's favorite person.

"So what did you want, Alex?"

"I..." Reg sighed. He had no weapon, but he could probably take her in a fight if it came to that- He at least knew more hand-to-hand than Tristan. And if those two other guys intervened he could at least run. After gulping once, he continued, "I know what you're doing. The dust heists and scoping them out, wiping my memories, using my money, everything. I'm breaking up with you."

"Oh, darling, that's hilarious. I've told you before, you just have bad memory. How could little ol' me be wiping it?" Giselle asked in mostly monotone, her eyes narrowing and a sick smirk blooming across her pretty pink lips.

"That's just it. I have a good memory, a great one. That guy with you, Tim- He's doing it. It's his semblance," Reg stated matter-of-factly, clenching his fists.

Giselle's eyes narrowed further, she stood and advanced on him, but he held his ground, didn't move.

"Look, Al, I'm not doing anything to you. Why would you think that? Knowing that you don't trust me, it hurts..." She looked at him, suddenly becoming very small and subdued, shy almost. "Why don't you trust me? What have I done to deserve that?"

Reg tsked, backing up. Giselle looked almost ready to cry, he wasn't going to fall for that act. He knew better. It still hurt him to say no, but he wasn't going to fall for this trap of hers. Not this time.

"A-are you serious?" Giselle stuttered, reaching a hand out. Her other hand rose to her cheek, a gasp falling from her parted lips. "You're serious! You _are_ breaking up with me! Why? After all the status I got you, the fun we had... All of that? Does that really mean nothing?"

"In a month you've used me for my money, stole my memories multiple times, and lied to me. You're not even... You're a Faunus. You work with the White Fang," Reg bit his tongue. It felt strange to put into words, the names left a bitter taste in his mouth.

"I... Okay, we're dropping the act, I was getting bored of playing the damsel anyway," Giselle sighed, dropping her hands to her waist. She trained her pink eyes on Reg, sizing him up.

"I'm working with the White Fang, yeah. I lied to you and used you, yeah. And I'll admit, honey, it was _fun._ But the gig's over and we only need you tonight- After this..." Her dangerous grin returned, making Reg gulp.

He obeyed the tugging feeling in his gut to turn and run. He stumbled slightly as he turned, heading for the open part of the docks, if he could get there then he could just- he blinked suddenly, stopping and jerking his head back. Giselle stood in front of him, something very shiny and very serrated in her outstretched hand. Reg's head arced back, exposing his neck to the saw blade held at him. He could feel the cold just a hairsbreadth away from his skin, making him gasp and freeze immediately.

Giselle's grin grew impossibly wider, more Cheshire and terrifying. "Cooperate or I cut. You've seen me pouty but you've never seen me angry. Don't get me _angry,_ okay Al?"

* * *

An hour passed by like it was nothing, but the sweat running down Reg's forehead and back proved that it had been sixty minutes, not six. THUG, as Giselle had dubbed the four-man team, had him lifting crates and boxes single-handedly and carrying them back and forth across the docks. Some were heavier, some were lighter, but they loaded him with so much stuff he could barely hold on to it. His arms were shaking after the first ten minutes, and soon after that he was ready to collapse.

The boxes were loaded into trucks, but none of them had license plates, and if they did they were covered. He'd also found, by rattling some of the boxes, that they weren't just dust, but machine parts and probably weapons too. There was smuggling happening here, he wished he had more information to take back to Ozpind...

Ozpind... Beacon... His team. If he didn't make it out of this, he wasn't sure he could die with confidence- he hadn't apologized to his team or Wiley in particular; not that he really wanted to, but it would clear his conscious. That felt rather selfish of him to say, when he thought it like that, maybe he wasn't as upstanding as he perceived himself-

"Hey," Giselle snapped, suddenly next to him. "Why're you slacking? Did I say you could take a break, honey?"

Reg froze, his tongue failing him. He could feel one of her saw blades at the base of his back. She pressed it closer to him, turning it and catching part of his jacket with it. "If you want a break, I can just paralyze you. It'll give you permanent time off."

"I'd greatly appreciate it if you didn't, Giselle." Reg retorted, forcing the stutter out of his voice. She smirked at him and pulled away, flipping her hair as she turned away from him.

"Still so strong willed... It's such a waste, you'd have been great on my team."

Her team. No. He would have been _terrible_ on her team. He wasn't cut out for villainy and dust heists, no matter how often she'd manipulated him into it. He was done with this, done with her. If he was gonna go down, he'd at least go down fighting Giselle R. Tantalo.

"Be careful with those!" Giselle snarled when he dropped the box he was holding. Reg turned to her, glaring. She narrowed her eyes back, turning and stalking towards him. "I don't remember saying you could break."

"You said that before."

"I also mentioned that I'd paralyze you, right?"

"You think I'm scared of that?" Reg clenched his fists, staring at her defiantly.

She tried to move quickly to cut him. He knew basic hand-to-hand, and was definitely better than Tristan, using a downward blow to block her. He blinked, and forced himself into running, yelping when her saw tore a gash at the base of his jacket. He blinked again and she was in front of him, shoving him to the floor. He stumble back and fell flat on his butt, glancing up at her only to see her holding an actual saw blade shooter to his face. It was small, hand-held, and a gold color with pink accents that matched her stupid eyes like everything else she owned-

Fear ran through him, but he squashed the emotion immediately, as much as he could. He wouldn't allow himself to show he was scared, it would only fuel her. He couldn't find the voice to challenge her though, so he sat, quietly, biding his time. A tugging in his gut alerted him it was alright.

Giselle clicked her tongue, jabbing the gun in his face. Her eyes, sharp and impassive, glared down at him, burning holes into him. She ran her tongue over her front teeth, looking away from him with an annoyed eye roll.

"I expected so much better from you, Al. You had it all at the tips of your fingers. Imagine if you did what I'd asked, you'd be on the team with me," Giselle looked down at him again, jostling the gun. Her finger twitched on the trigger. "I'm so, so disappointed in you. How does it make you feel, when you were dancing around and kissing my toes just to get my attention earlier, that I'm disappointed in you?"

"It feels great," Reg replied icily. He met her eyes, and smirked. "I'm glad I disappointed you. It means I'm not doing what you want."

"That's gonna get you killed-!"

Before she could pull the trigger, an arrow whistled past them, knocking her gun away so her saw blade sped past him and embedded into the ground. Reg saw something else arcing up and over the back of her head, a small, round rock-like object, before an arrow whizzed passed Giselle's noise. There was an explosion next to him of ice and electricity, that crackled over the area and froze in jagged, thunder-shaped formations. Giselle screamed and disappeared, causing him to blink again, before he scrambled to his feet and looked around.

Wiley and Neta were standing atop the truck Reg was previously loading dust into. He couldn't see Kazh, but that didn't mean he wasn't there- Reg could hear the hum of his hover-bike if he listened carefully.

There was a moment when none of them said anything, only to have that silence broken by another explosion nearby. Wiley jumped down from the top of the truck, Meta backing her up as she charged past Reg and towards her ice creation. Giselle was positioned in the middle of it, and was firing saw blades at Wiley and Reg with both of her guns; Neta shot the blades down before they could even touch his teammates.

Giselle made a frustrated noise and hopped out of the center of the mass of ice before Wiley dropped down from above her and blew it apart with a huge blast of wind. Her ears flattened to her head as the chilly wind whipped around her, scattering the shards of ice so finely they covered the area in a layer of snow. Neta kept an eye on her, his glasses in place protecting his eyes, and he went to help Reg stand up.

"My thanks," Reg told him, not meeting his eyes. Neta rolled his entire head, punching Reg softly in the shoulder.

"Don't ever do that again, but I'm glad you're okay. Kazh has your sword, though he's dealing with another guy- We better help him," Neta quickly explained, firing at arrow through two saw blades heading towards Wiley's legs before taking off. "Also we brought the police, but I think someone else is trying to attack them."

"Yes," Reg nodded in agreement, following Neta towards the other side of the docs, away from the explosion. "I saw her earlier, she had pink eyes and a large sword."

"Pink eyes?" Neta asked, then shook his head. "We'll figure it out later, I'm sure Professor Priest and Professor Goodwitch can handle them. Come on!"

He drew another arrow from his quiver and readied it as they turned the corner. Kazh and the guy he was fighting, Ungar if the bullet holes were anything to go by, were nowhere to be seen, leaving Neta on edge. He looked up as well, but couldn't find them- that was, until Wiley yelped behind them, and was thrown into their backs. Reg braced himself against the wall, while Neta and Wiley tumbled before getting to their feet. She pulled a pair of the spherical objects from the bag at her waist, which Reg could now see were meant to be bombs, and threw them. Neta fired at both, one blowing up in midair and raining Giselle and Ungar with sparks of fire and electricity, while the other exploded by Giselle's feet into a mushroom cloud of pure burning smoke more than anything. She disappeared before it could touch her, but Wiley and Neta still slapped fives anyway.

Kazh got the drop on Ungar while he was still reeling from the fire. He dropped out of the sky and brought his bike down on Ungar's head, only to have the strike blocked and deflected. Kazh kept his balance and kicked at Ungar before bringing his feet to the ground and swinging his bike out across his shoulders again. Ungar was knocked back, but he spun out of the way and fired a bullet in retaliation. Kazh easily dodged by ducking, the bullet skimming across Kona and into a truck nearby.

The resounding explosion threw Kazh to the floor. He summoned a pair of foxes to distract Ungar and assist Wiley while he got to his feet. Reg ran to him and offered him a hand, pulling him to his feet.

"Are you alright?"

"Fine, fine," Kazh responded with a grin. "What about you, bad boy? I heard you and Reina broke up?"

Reg rolled his eyes and smirked, replying, "It wasn't really working out. I think I much prefer my team than a girlfriend."

"It's good that you finally came around, you dork," Kazh grinned, passing over Motio Glaive. Reg examined the weapon, then revved the engine. He slashed at a bullet coming their way, diffusing it and sending it in two different directions around them. He deflected another two saw blades coming at them, then leveled his blade.

"Let's get these two."

"Right. Wiley, now!" Kazh yelled. She looked at him with a grin, then fired a blast of wind at the ground that sent her straight into the air. She pulled three bombs from her bag, colored a light blue, and threw them down. Kazh pulled Reg onto his bike and flew them into the air, while Neta climbed his way onto a truck and jumped away, breaking his bow an stabbing his daggers into a dust crate some ways up to keep above the ground.

He could see Giselle getting ready to move. There was a split second before the bombs hit the ground, where Neta felt his semblance activate. He could feel Giselle disappear, even though he blinked it was like he could still see her, and focused on her- there was a nearly audible _thump_ as he negated her teleportation. She hit the ground with a yowl, just before the bombs exploded into a wide-spread blast of ice. Ungar bellowed an obscenity or two when the ice froze over his feet and liked him in place, while Giselle struggled to teleport away.

"What did you do with my semblance!!" She shrieked, using a saw blade to cut herself free from the ice. KRWN jumped down from the air, Kazh's foxes convening around them. Ungar fired a trio of bullets at them, only to have one cut by Reg, one sliced in half by Neta, and the last diffused by Wiley. He phased out of the ice with a tough glower at the team, huffing as he reloaded his gun.

"You brats, yer lucky you got the drop on us! Next time..." Ungar started.

"There won't need to be a next time."

A hammer flew from behind him, from the shadows. It swung out, smashing one of Kazh's foxes, before a chain from the same area wrapped around one of Wiley's legs. It jerked and pulled her towards her right, into a dust crate. It dented massively where she hit it, her yip dying to a gasp in her throat before she collapsed to the ground. Kazh summoned two more foxes and sent the three towards the origin of the hammer, only to have them destroyed by a wide sweep of the chain. A man stepped into the light, swinging his hammer next to him. He wore black cargo pants, tucked into knee-high work boots, with a dark orange shirt pushed up above his elbows. He had black knee and elbow pads, and black fingerless gloves on. His eyes were a dark orange-red and his skin was dark, his hair short and kinky.

"Ungar, Giselle, stand down. We're retreating," The man commanded.

"Who are you?!" Neta yelled, unfolding both spears and pointing them at him. The man turned his glare on Neta and swung his chain out at him, catching one of his spears. He jerked it away from him, then pulled it back and threw it at Reg, stopping him from running forward.

"Reg, illusions, go!" Kazh yelled, summoning a pair of foxes. Reg created more with his semblance, also sending a blast of wind from a Wiley he whipped up. The man rushed forward, pushing past all of them as though they weren't there. Reg tried again with the Wiley, directing even more foxes in the man's direction, only to have them trampled underfoot. Neta tried to hold him off with his spear, but the man pushed him back with two strong hits from his hammer. He grabbed Neta's spear and jabbed him in the side with it, before smashing his hammer into Neta's jaw. While he was still reeling, the man grabbed his face and slammed his head into the floor, leaving him passed out there as he advanced on the remaining two.

Reg revved the chainsaw on his blade and dashed forward, summoning two Reg's next to him. The man merely swatted them away, grabbing Reg's leg with the chain from his hammer and swinging him aside, where he hit the ground and tumbled into the ice. Kazh hopped onto Kona and tried to rush the man, flipping with his bike when he was swung at. He spun in midair and tried to bring his bike down on the man, sweep kicking at his feet to knock him over. The man only grabbed Kazh's bike and flung them both aside, going for Reg again.

Reg tried to scramble to his feet, but the man kicked him in the stomach, knocking him to the ground. He grabbed Reg by the forehead and pulled him to his knees, mumbling something condescending under his breath. That was all Kazh heard before there was an audible _whoosh_ and he passed out.

* * *

Wiley was the first to come to on the hover craft back to Beacon. Her head spun, probably from a concussion, and she didn't think she could sit up without feeling any more nauseous. She looked around the small craft, her eyes landing on Kazh's bike first. There was a sizable dent in the frame, that would definitely need fixing if he was ever gonna ride it again. Her eyes moved to Professor Priest next, who looked over and smiled, relief flooding her face.

"Wiley, you're awake!"

"Yeah... I think," Wiley answered, looking to Kazh next. It took her a second to register that his lips quirked into a smile, and that he was probably pretending to be asleep.

"Do you know where you are?" The professor asked, coming to the side of her student's cot.

Wiley gently shook her head, then nodded. "We're not at the docks anymore, I'd assume we're going back to Beacon. Where are the others?"

"Reginald and Neta are on another hovercraft with Professor Goodwitch. Ozpind would like a word with your team later, but we want to get you to the infirmary first."

"That sounds great," Wiley huffed, rolling her eyes. At least they were alive. "What about the guys who attacked us?"

"They retreated before we found you. There were four in total, I'm rather surprised they did as much damage as they did..." Priest said, rubbing her head. She looked tired, and it occurred to Wiley that she'd never seen her teacher wear more black.

"Anyway, that's not important. For now, getting you four treated is what's important. Oh!" Priest leaned in a little closer, grinning. "How did your new weapon work?"

"I didn't get a chance to test it, there was a malfunction. But the bombs worked great." Wiley replied with a grin to match. "You should have seen the way I blew up the ice and made snow."

"That. Sounds. Awesome." Her teacher replied, pulling away. "Whenever you feel up to it, we'll fix that malfunction so you can show them off. We have a two week break coming up soon, if you're feeling better by then we can work on it."

"Cool, I'll be sure to stop by your office when the world stops spinning."

Kazh snorted next to her, alerting them both that he was awake. Priest smiled, and went to check up on him, leaving Wiley to go back to resting until they touched down.

* * *

"And that concludes our report, though I think that was more than five paragraphs, intro and conclusion included," Kazh finished, picking at one of the bandages on his arms absently. Wiley smacked his hand, turning to look at Ozpin when he started talking.

"I see... First of all, I'm glad you four are mostly alright. It could have come out a lot worse than it did, but you persevered- that is the kind of thing I enjoy seeing from my students. In addition, it seems your team is working together again. Just as I expected. However, I will say that you will probably have some form of punishment for running off on your own," Ozpin explained, his hands crossed in front of his mouth.

"We at least told Priest we were going, she came with us," Wiley defended, slapping at Kazh's hands again.

"I wasn't doing anything!" He whispered, slapping her back. They booth looked at the headmaster, hiding their hands behind their backs.

Ozpin shook his head, then continued, "I suppose this is true. Anyway, you are eventually going to become full-fledged Hunters and Huntresses. You've done a good deed today, exposing this team... THUG to us. We'll keep an eye on them, and see how they fit in with Roman Torchwick."

"When Reg wakes up, he may know something," Kazh offered. "He was the most involved with them."

"I'll have another conference with your team again when Mister Savage and Mister Aegeon wake up then." Ozpin nodded, standing.

"For now, I want you to return to your dorms. Rest well, and be sure to relax until you're confident you can train and spar without wounding yourselves. Especially you, Miss O'Syrah, I've had my own fair share of concussions. We have a little more than three days until the end of the semester... Take it easy until then."

"Yes, headmaster," Kazh nodded, mock saluting him when his back was turned. When Ozpin didn't answer, the two took that as their cue to leave, heading back to their dorm for some much needed rest.


End file.
